Redeem

God seems to have woven the theme of redemption through the lives of so many that I know this year. I've seen firsthand how he can put things back right. So, it should come as no surprise that my constant prayer throughout a lot of this adoption journey has been that God will redeem the time. Redeem the two and a half years that this boy has been without a family. Redeem the moments that we have missed..the firsts, the birthdays, the laughs, the smiles, the hurts, the cries. Redeem the opportunities for bonding. Redeem and give us back more than we can even imagine.

 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. Psalm 130:7

As we are getting ready to travel, my mind is so busy and cluttered - I'm finding myself asking God to redeem my mind! I've put dog toys in the garbage, put an empty green bean can in the spice cabinet, put crackers in the fridge, missed my turn while driving and thrown away one of Camden's dress shirts! No worries! I fished it back out and washed it, though!  There have been several things -usually at night- that I've thought about saying on this blog, but it seems that by morning I've lost the words. 

This I think you should know, though. As I heard my aunt Wanda say one time about her and her sweet husband Dean's life together, any good that you've seen in us is Jesus. Jim and I are ordinary, normal, dare I say boring. God is the God of adventure. He is the great lover who loves the least of these and sets the lonely in families. Redemption is his idea, his plan. Any good works that Jim or I might do are just filthy rags! If left to our own devices and selfishness we would mess this up every time! We'll still mess quite a bit up even with the Holy Spirit leading us, because you see we will sometimes choose our own selfish path and not do the best or the right thing- our flesh is weak even though our spirit is willing. It is God who's power is made perfect in our weakness. It is our privilege to glorify him. 

We will be flying out in just a few short days we would love to have you praying with us. Thank you so much!