Memorial Box Monday - All We Need and Even What We Want

Look what April surprised me with - a Memorial Box! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's really beautiful! Thank you, April!
All we need and even what we want
I remember so clearly in 2004 barely arriving home with our precious Kayden Faith and the Lord began probing my heart about a second adoption. I couldn’t escape His voice. It was in every sermon, every Sunday school lesson, and every devotion. Reality struck twice: our adoption agency told us we couldn’t submit another application until we’d been home six months … and the thousands of dollars we still owed from our first process, not to mention the funds we’d need to start again. As crazy an idea as it seemed, we weren’t really worried about the debt because God had proven Himself faithful, as always, and we knew He would creatively provide all we needed.

We continued to seek the Lord, and occasionally I reminded Clayton that I had the application printed and all he’d have to do was sign it – at which time he reminded me that I am NOT the Holy Spirit! Just after the six month mark, we were talking about our individual quiet times when God spoke very clearly through Scripture that He wanted us to proceed and it would be disobedient for us to put it off any longer. You guessed it, Clayton signed the application and it was mailed that very day!

Now we were excited to see how God was going to provide for a second journey. At that time, adoption from China was going rather quickly and we expected to have our child home within a year. That changed once our dossier was sent to China in September 2005. There was an unexpected and increasing slowdown in the process, which continues to this day. A journey we once thought would take ten months stretched into two years of waiting. But in that time we saw God provide in amazing ways. We received two financial assistance grants, began a fundraiser, used our tax refund to pay off the prior adoption debt, and suddenly we were within a month of travel and realized we had every single dime we needed for the trip.

There were only three items we were lacking and, frankly, knew we could do without for a while at least: A toddler bed for Kayden, another car seat and high chair. We had estimated what these items would cost and written it down. We hadn’t shared it with anyone. After all, our God is so big He had provided thousands for this journey! We couldn’t dare ask for more.

Then one day in the mail we received a beautiful card with encouraging words – and a check for exactly what we needed to complete our ‘wish list.’ It was from an adoptive family we had never met. They had recently arrived home with their precious daughter and the Lord impressed upon them that we had an unspoken need. Truly, our God knows what we need, even before we ask – and many times He even gives us what we want!

Obviously, today has been an amazing day for our family. We thank you for your kind comments and encouraging words. My prayer is that next Monday I will get to share the most amazing Memorial Box 'moment' that I have ever experienced from our awesome God.
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Cor 2:9