I love blogging…”online journaling”…whatever you want to call it–simply because I just love looking back and seeing what was happening this same time last year. It rings of His faithfulness. Always.
Can you remember?
What was happening this time in your life LAST year?
What were you trusting God with?
What were you stepping out in faith for?
What has God done and how has He moved since this time last year.
I just jumped back over to this week LAST AUGUST on blog to see what what happening.
We were almost out of our first trimester of our pregnancy…although I hadn’t announced it on my blog YET because I didn’t want to take the wonder off what the Lord was doing in the life and journey of the teenager who had lived with us for the summer…and who the Lord was moving mountains to bring home forever as the daughter of our dear friends the Martins.
I was DYING to announce their adoption of her…oh I could hardly stand it. And a few posts later–Andra…her momma shared the story herself. If you ever read anything on my blog–skip right over all my junk–and read THAT. Truly amazing.
I was so excited because in just a couple of weeks would be their final court appointment and another ultra sound for us–and we were going to announce it their adoption being FINAL (yayyy!) on the SAME day as our pregnancy (super YAY!). Little did I know on that day I would be having a D&C…yet so much goodness was ahead.
Oh what the Lord has done!
If you would have told me THIS time last year that we would not have a newborn–but a 2 year old beautiful son from China–I would have scratched my head…we didn’t have a home study or anything in place at that time.
If you would have told me THIS time last year the adoption of our Princess T would have been final and just weeks later she would have been home…and that a year later I would be swimming with my kids at her pool party celebrating her 17th birthday…I might have done a cart wheel (and injured myself in the process;).
If you would have told me THIS time last year that a year later today–my 2 big kids would be at their first day of a hybrid school where they’d go 2 days a week so I could pour into Created for Care (not to mention laundry for 5)–and have extra time to pour into my littles…I would have breathed deeper knowing that although the Lord called me to homeschool (which I LOVE) yet I still need a little margin to pour into ministry too.
If you would have told me last year that my pregnancy wouldn’t result in a baby–but my heart this time a year later would be full of JOY and PRAISE…I think my knees might have buckled–but I would have held on for the ride.
Oh…what a ride this year has been.
Oh…how good He is.
Last week–I posted that sweet, funny conversation of Frank and Isaac. Truly–it WAS sweet and funny. A mom…author…older lady/reader–wrote a comment that I chose not to publish. But I’ll tell you now what it said. She read that conversation and said how sad and pathetic their conversation was that they are confused kids about which is adopted…yadda…yadda…yadda. Yet–she really doesn’t know me. OR what God has done in our lives. How does that comment tie into this post of God’s faithfulness in the last year?
Well–over and over and over–you will have discouraging (maybe even crazy) people comment about your life…and you will be tempted to believe the lie that it breathes into your mind and even your heart. But no one knows you like your Father in heaven does. This person doesn’t see the hours upon hours I pour into my babies. She doesn’t know that some times my little preschoolers act like preschoolers–saying funny little things…and maybe-yes…some times they are even confused–but oh how sweet they are. How loved they are! She doesn’t know the time I pour into teaching them, loving them, guiding them. But He does. And when they are 5 or 10 or 15–they might still be a little big confused…it will just sound different. But rest assured–I will walk through the hard with them. We will find ways to laugh. To celebrate. To look for Him when things don’t make sense. And both you and I will always have people stepping in saying their opinions–that are often so far off…because they really know nothing about us at all. DO NOT LISTEN. Love them. But don’t listen. Instead–look at what is TRUE.
Never listen to the opinion of someone who hasn’t been there all along–who has no idea where you have been and all that the Lord has done and is doing in your life now. Instead–allow the truth of what God has done and His faithfulness be what carries you through the current unknowns and uncertainties in your life. And marinate on what is true.
What is TRUE in my life right now is this…
God has moved mountains and made wondrous (hard, painful, beautiful, miraculous) changes in my life in the past year. I would give ANYTHING in the world to hold our sweet baby who is now in heaven…whose heartbeat I got to see not once but several times as we waited to see what would happen. I still long for another newborn. Am I crazy? Yes. (And I’m really for Not Nice Nelly to comment and tell me what she thinks about that too;). I think the way the Lord designed me, I’ll ALWAYS long for another baby. I just love them. And I’ll always long for the one I saw doing summersaults. But the story He has written in the last year–I wouldn’t change. (I had to erase that a few times…and take a breath.) I’ll say it again. The story He has written in the last year–I wouldn’t change. I would not. I would not.
His plans aren’t always easy…are they?
But oh.
Oh what joy.
What joy comes in the morning!
We are figuring out our new normal with 5 littles. We have 5 healthy children. I’m healthy. Richard’s healthy. Princess T is settled in with her family. I looked on the P.S. of that post last year–and our friend’s daughter was getting ready for her last chemo treatment–and she is now cancer free! God truly has moved mountains in the last year. And His faithful endures forever.
The world around you will always be reminding you what a mess you are surrounded by–but listen not to the world but remember His faithfulness…and celebrate His goodness and purpose in your life!
What has God done in your life since this time last year?
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you …. and did I say Thank YOU!!!!! I didn’t even know I needed to read that as bad as I did until I read it!!!! I am prone to get busy and only focus on what is around me and what people are saying to me today …. thank you for reminding me to take the time to look back at everything that God has done, answered, repaired, created and solved in just a year!!!! God Bless you and your “littles” (I now use that term due to reading your blog everyday, I hope you don’t mind).
This is lovely. May His ways and plans and faithfulness always shine through our years :)That’s why I love to journal too- to see how everything is unfolding and how He is loving us through each detail.
What a year! I LOVED reading this post–how amazing and what an adventure is this life we are given. Thanks for sharing!
I can’t believe all of that happened in just.one.year! Wow isn’t God amazing. I am continually blessed to see your faith in action and how everything has played out with your sweet family! Thank you for the reminder to be thankful for all of the joys (big and small) in our lives.
You’re absolutely right, don’t listen to the remarks. Children say interesting things, whether they’re adopted or not.
I happen to have two beautiful children who were adopted.
I was just thinking about T yesterday. Thank you for updating! We have had many things happen this past year. I love to look back to see what God has done. The biggest one is we finally know why are son behaves the way he does and have a diagnosis that has helped tremendously. God moved mountains this past year and in a swift fashion, I might add. All praise to Him!
I love that maybe your littles are sometime confused about adoption, but none of them are confused about what a family is!
You are all blessed to have eachother.
Haven’t commented in a while but always read. Love this post! You are so right. It is easy for people to judge from the outside looking in, and I know for me it is each to take those comments to heart.
Reading this post, it is truly amazing what has happened in the past year!
I remember last year following all of your adventures about Miss T. I so wanted you to adopt her and just couldn’t understand why you weren’t, but you would allude to reasons and so I waited patiently for you to reveal the whys…and I was heartbroken for you when you wrote about your sweet little angel going to heaven…I cried and prayed for God to be good to your family because you were all so sweet and I couldn’t fathom why your hearts were being broken.
All of this while my own journey to adopt my twin babies was finally coming up to their birth! They were born on September 2nd, wonderfully made and like little angels they have transformed this house of girls into a loud, messy, but joyful home! Just 2 years before this I had come to the point that I believed that my baby days were over. After 5 children (1 homemade and 4 adopted.) I kept trying to talk myself into feeling content. After all, God wants us to be happy where we are and I felt like I was so blessed to have my children that I should stop praying for more!!
And then He so gloriously blessed me with twin boys!! And I was sooo happy! And everyone around would say, but I thought you were done? Didn’t you say you didn’t want anymore?! But I never said that, I just never said I was anything but content. And this past year holding my babies and living faithfully through mothering twins, which is never easy, I never let go of the miracle that is my boys and the fact that I get to be their mother! Thank you, thank you, thank you LORD!
And I have watched your family grow again and rejoiced with you! Yes, God is so good!! Yes, His plans are so much more wonderful than our own! And yes…as my boys get so big now I catch myself looking at newborns and saying little prayers…just one more? Whatever He has for me…I am so excited to see how our stories continue to unfold!!
I was about to go to Europe for the second time in a year after I’d won a trip for 4. I was taking my then boyfriend (now husband!), brother & his best friend, an awesome girl we all love.
I was deepening my faith.
I’d found out I was about to become an aunty! Gorgeous baby girl was born in April.
My sister announced they would be moving with the baby from Singapore…taking that baby to Houstom (gasp! so far away from Australia)
And this time next year…we might be starting the foster/adoption process!
I still hope to maybe maybe be able to visit the US in March to visit sissy, BIL, & precious niece & it’s my hearts desire to attend the Created for Care weekend in March. We will see if God opens up doors for that trip!
“Never listen to the opinion of someone who hasn’t been there all along–who has no idea where you have been and all that the Lord has done and is doing in your life now. Instead–allow the truth of what God has done and His faithfulness be what carries you through the current unknowns and uncertainties in your life. And marinate on what is true.” Thank you for this post! We too have been judged and misunderstood concerning our family’s choice to adopt. I wrote about it on my blog as well, though not as eloquently as you have here.