Hope for the Future

We are still waiting. Our facilitator told me that the SDA is closed until Monday. So we will have to wait a while longer. I am so anxious to get some news and I am praying that it will be good news. Some good news would do my soul so much good right now. Mother's Day is coming up and I just pray that our dossier will be submitted by then. It's going to be a difficult holiday for me and I would just really like some good news by then.

Then there is the thought in the back of my mind that Chloe relapsed in May. Then her birthday is in July. She went to Heaven on August 15th and then my birthday is August 24th. I'm just praying that this summer will be a season of renewal and not more loss. While we are grateful for the blessings and lessons that we received from having and giving Chloe back, we would not be human if we did not still miss her everyday, many times a day. It's been hitting me really hard the last few days. I guess it is because Rick has been in California on a business conference and I have been here alone. It is just so empty and quiet. It has been a good opportunity to think and listen more to God, but lonely as well. I still rejoice in the Lord that I will see Chloe again! But, it sure does seem like a long waiting period some days.

I know that no matter what the outcome of our adoption that God is at work here and good will come from it. We're just praying that they will accept and approve our dossier. Things are VERY uncertain over there right now in regards to international adoption. I have heard that special needs adoptions will not be affected, but I don't know of anyone that has had a dossier accepted since they put a freeze on dossier submission. But I do know that God loves us and all of the children and He is looking after every single detail. It was very discouraging to me when the law not allowing single parents to adopt (from the children's country) was passed. While this does not affect us personally, it does affect many of the families and children that we were excited to see go home to them. It has rattled me, a lot, and I just don't understand why God allows these things to happen. Of course, I know how limited my vision is compared to God's. It just doesn't make sense to me right now. But from an eternal perspective, God will judge the ones that are hurting these children and families and they will have to answer for this hurt and pain that they have inflicted on the innocent for politics and greed.

God led me to this scripture a couple of weeks before the dossier submissions were put on hold... This scripture speaks to me more and more each day. I know the passage is not speaking of the country that we are hoping to adopt from, but it sure does hit the nail on the head! I'm praying and hoping that God will remove the current director and place someone that loves the children and will look out for their best interest. This passage gives me great hope that help is on the way.

Isaiah 1:23-26

23 Your rulers are rebels,
companions of thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will get relief from my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.

25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.

26 I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City."

I ran across this devotional and prayer and it helped me today. I hope that it will help others too. It is written by Barry Adams

My plan for your future
has always been filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV Bible)

We live in a world that sometimes seems void of hope. Wars, famine, pollution, recessions, etc. can cause us to become easily discouraged when we look at the prospects of our future. Discouragement can lead to depression, and depression can lead to hopelessness.

When we are feeling hopeless, we see our circumstances and surroundings through a filtered lens that can cause us to continue to spiral downwards in our emotions and our attitudes. In this week's devotional scripture, God says that He has a plan for you, a plan that will prosper you and not to harm you, a plan that will give you hope and a future.

While the economy may be saying one thing to us, God is saying another. While your circumstances may cry out hopelessness, God is saying that He has a plan to prosper and not to harm you. While we don't know what the future does hold, we know who holds the future. We can trust in the goodness of God to care for us in the midst of situations that seem hopeless.

Our hope is not in our circumstances, but in God our Father. That does not necessarily mean that life will always turn out the way we expected, but it does mean that we can always trust in our Father to love us and watch over us. If we commit our lives into His care, we are guaranteed from an everlasting perspective, that we will have an incredible future filled with hope awaiting us, that will last forever.

PRAYER
Father, I thank You that You have a plan for me that is filled with hope and a future. I know that You have plans to prosper me and not to harm me. I need not fear and I need not despair for you are in control of my life. Help me to commit my life to You, trusting in Your faithfulness to accomplish all that You have promised to do. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.

Also, please pray for all of the families and orphans that were affected by the new singles law. Lift them up and ask God to give them peace and comfort. Please pray that the orphans will find families again. Also, pray that the families that have lost their children due to this, will not lose hope and that God will lead them to other children in need. Satan tries to tear us down, and he will take the most precious and innocent from us to achieve this. But through our pain and loss, God can bless us and use us to be a more bright shining light for Him than we were before the enemy attacked. We have eternal victory through Christ and the pain of this world is only temporary. It is but a grain of sand in the sea of eternity.