Memorial Box Monday ~ My Grace is Sufficient

My grace is sufficient!
Minding my own business, getting ready for work in late 2003, and on the radio I hear this incredible testimony of how an 11 year old girl prayed, encouraged and finally inspired her parents to adopt from China. It was as if the audible voice of God was whispering amazing plans into my pounding heart.

I’ve shared my testimony many times of how He spoke adoption into our family, and I will continue to praise Him for changing our lives! We had never talked about adopting, didn’t know anything about the international process, and we certainly didn’t realize there were over 143 million orphans worldwide needing loving parents to tuck them into bed every night.

As we dove into the process and learned more about it, we often became overwhelmed and weary. We serve an amazing God who knows our every need, and at that point in our faith (I had been a believer for 2 years and Clayton for 6) He knew we needed confirmation that we were following His calling and not stepping out on a limb on our own strength.

For 11 months we claimed the promise in 2 Corinthians 12:9(a) “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We questioned our abilities so many times. We questioned how we would afford the process. We questioned our ability to love. I will testify that on September 21, 2004 I learned love takes on an entirely new realm when we love through our Heavenly Father! All the questions, fears and doubt were washed away as the Lord sweetly affirmed His plan for our family and Kayden Faith was placed in our arms.

We had kept this journey to ourselves for several months so we would know for certain it was what God intended for us. We were immature spiritually, but we didn’t want to be influenced by human wisdom. We really wanted to shout from the rooftop what God was doing, and once we did we were often asked by family and strangers why we would adopt … and why from China. Everyone wanted a ‘logical’ answer. We had thrown logic out the window and decided to follow the Lord with reckless abandon, trusting Him for everything we needed. His Word enlightened, refreshed and motivated us. His people encouraged us. His Spirit moved us. His love enveloped us.

I am convinced the more time we spend in His Word and in intimate prayer, the more we know Him and can hear His voice. But I also am convinced the Spirit is constantly moving and speaking, even when we least expect to hear, “My grace is sufficient for you…”