What Brings People Together

The last few weeks we've had some neat opportunities to connect with various people through our adoption. It's amazing to think about what brings people together, and how God has lined up all the details for us to be connected to others during this process. Clearly He knows this is something we need :)

We connected with another family in the area who adopted from Thailand, just came home in December with their daughter, and is with our agency. The Thailand program is so small, so this is a huge God thing that I have someone a phone call away from a coffee date to ask questions to! Praising God for this.

We have friends from church who just came home from China with their daughter. It's so encouraging to watch and learn from them, and then also even think about ways we can encourage them now knowing we'll be in their shoes at some point!

Both have asked how are we preparing for adoption. On our knees!!! This is totally a God thing to ever be prepared for what He has ahead for us. And I must confess, I'm not there as often as I should be.

I'm not a reader, at all. And so, I do my best learning from others. It has been so helpful watching close friends and family parent their children. Five years ago we had barely been around kids, and now I can truly say by simply being around children, we have at least a better idea of what to do with them, haha. To understand what's ahead in adopting children, well, that's why it's so great we are connecting with other families now who are willing to be there for us then!

I continue to rejoice in one of the main things I've learned in this process - this is God's story, not ours. We are simply characters in it. Tears come to my eyes as I heard my grandma tell me that she shared our adoption testimony with her doctor which lead him to share how he came to know Christ to her! I'm shocked when I hear people say that this blog and this story is having a possibly life changing conviction on their spouses' heart about if God would call them to adopt. When I really think about what brings people together, I think of the body of Christ, of followers of Jesus Christ, and how everything is worth it for the sake of the Gospel!

This song ties in so many great truths that bring followers of Jesus Christ together: