God IS in Control...


The past two days of my life have been a little bit overwhelming. After receiving news on Wednesday night that Ethiopia has been somewhat in attack over adoptions, but heart broke. We expect bumps along the road, but I guess this one wasn't really "expected." There are still a lot of decisions to make in Ethiopia, and our social worker has told us to just be "on hold," and "don't worry too much." I don't know why, but I was born a worrier. I worry a lot...just ask my family, my husband, my friends. It's hard not to worry, when you don't have control over something...that's the reality. Yesterday, after a major breakdown on the way home from Wal-Mart (like I was crying a lot and I think the people passing me thought I was crazy!), I called my Mom and Dad. I talked to my mom first, who is always empathetic. She is so good at that! Then I talked to my Dad, who tends to give me a dose of the greater reality most times. He said to me..."Do you believe that God is in control?" Through many sobs, I said, "I'm not sure..." Now I know that was a reactive remark...I am a reactor...so after I had collected my thoughts, I knew I had to do some soul searching. The reality is...this situation is out of my control. There is nothing I can do about waiting things out. The greater reality is God IS in control. He is the God of the universe, the God who created each of us, and the God who knows us personally. He knows exactly what the plan is, even when I feel completely broken. My Dad also said, in his reality check tone that I love..."You remember the old Twila Paris song, 'God is in Control?' You need to put your headphones on and listen to that and remember that He is in Control." So here are those lyrics:

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don't lose the vision here
Carried away by emotion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control, oh God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh, but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever

He has never let you down
Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me

watching over you...watching over me..
watching over every things..
watching over you..watching over me..
every little sparrow..every little things...

Last night, a woman who is from our sister church, whom I think has a heart of gold and has been following our story, stopped by our house to surprise me with flowers, peeps, and a little frog bath toys for our kids to come. She said that she just felt like God wanted her to stop by. She hadn't even heard about the disrupt in Ethiopia yet or read what I had shared on Facebook! What an amazing God moment that served as a total reminder that God is a God who loves us, who is still Lord in the midst of chaos and trials, and who knows exactly what we need when we need it. I am so thankful for that.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 12, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He has done. If you do this you will experience God's Peace, Which is far more Wonderful than the human mind can comprehend!!" Philipians 4: 6-7.
    love you guys...and am praying for you. :) see you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lorie BromleyMarch 13, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    Thanks for continuing to post and talk openly about your faith. Our small group here in NH prays for you every week. Love you guys!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Donut Story

Image
When I was about five years into being a Youth Pastor, I met a group of kids that changed my life.  Many of you reading this, who know me personally, have probably heard me talk about them numerous times.  Nate and I happened to live in the parsonage next door to the church I was serving at at the time, and would routinely come home to a group of boys that I would have described then as "rough around the edges."   They dressed mostly in black, had long hair, and sometimes even had black painted fingernails.  They loved to smoke, and they loved to skateboard.  After a few days of watching them through our window, Nate and I went outside and brought them some sodas.  We introduced ourselves, told them I was the Youth Pastor at the church, and invited them to come to youth group.  While they politely declined our invitation, we continued to invite them over and over again, attempted to skate with them, and fill them with snacks.  Until one day, ...
Read more

A Mother's Heart...

Image
It was the night before we were ready to leave for Ethiopia that it dawned on me. We hadn’t given the necklace to Biruk yet. When we had exchanged necklaces with his birth mom ten years prior at the orphanage, we had no idea when we would give it to him. We just knew that we wanted him to be old enough to appreciate it, as it would be the only thing he would have from her. We had no idea if we would ever see her again.  There have been several moments in our journey where I’ve had to pinch myself, because it has felt like I was dreaming. That night as we put our final things in our suitcases, took a deep breath, and came to the realization that we were not only taking our kids to Ethiopia, but that Biruk would in fact meet his birth mom…well, you had to pinch me, because it felt like I was dreaming. It also felt like the perfect moment to share this gift that we had been holding onto for 10 years. So we pulled out the necklace and gave it to Biruk. While words can be few and...
Read more

Stories Matter

Image
Yesterday, my family and I found ourselves at a local elementary school’s culture club, presenting about our trip to Ethiopia. Even as I write those words, it kind of blows my mind how God has continued to use our story in unexpected places. When the kids were old enough to understand, we began to talk about taking them back to their birth country when they turned 10. We figured at 10, they would be old enough to be pretty good travelers, but still approach the adventure with a childlike wonder. What we didn’t plan on, was that the year Biruk turned 10 would come on the heels of me taking a brand new job, our family moving to a new state, and buying our very first house, in an economy that felt as though it was tanking!  I remember talking to my counselor one day and sharing with him that while we had always promised this trip to our kids, it just didn’t seem to make financial sense. After all, last time I checked, Southwest Airlines does not travel to Africa. He said someth...
Read more