God Moments on a Sunday...


This past week has been insanely busy. Last Friday I turned 32 and it was somewhat of a big weekend for me. I felt like 32 as somewhat old, even though every one assured me it really wasn't! I started my birthday early in the morning as Nate surprised me with a new Asus Tablet to blog with. I was so surprised and excited! I spent the weekend with 33 teenagers on our Annual Youth Group Fall Retreat. It was a great weekend, but left me exhausted at the end. My parents came up as soon as I got home, and we celebrated my birthday together. Then I went into a crazy week of youth ministry, volleyball, and sermon prep. I had been studying a passage for the sermon I preached today and found it extremely challenging and by the end of the week was spent. And that's when I got the not so great news.

I had emailed our social worker, getting some clarification on our wait time again. She had told me earlier in the month that the referral time wait was going to be at least a year for us. That was disappointing enough to us. I asked her this past week how much time the wait was currently from the time of the referral, until actually bringing the kids home. She told us it would be anywhere from 5--10 months. When I heard that, my heart just broke. It's disappointing in so many ways. I know that God an totally intervene on that, and that is what we are going to believe with all of hearts. We are praying what we have been praying all along, even when it is really tough...that God's timing will prevail.

Disappointment has a way of taking over our hearts at times, and I am finding that when I am the most disappointed, the greatest thing I can do is acknowledge the God moments in my life. Today was a day that I felt like God's sunshine poured into my life. It started with having that opportunity to preach and share my heart with our congregation. Then after church, we had the opportunity to spend some time with an Ethiopian family that lives right across the street from us. We had such an amazing time talking with them about Ethiopian culture, raising a family, and our adoption goingprocess. They are actually going to help us with a fundraiser we are going to be having in December (more to come on that this week), and cook Ethiopian food for us! They were incredibly kind to us, and I know will be an extended family to our kids when they get here. It was truly a God momet for us.

Then we had the opportunity to visit Loyalton, the local nursing home down the street. I can't even begin to describe the joy that came from hanging with the elderly there. It is an incredible privilege to spend time with the residents there. It continues to amaze me how much smile can make a difference in a person's life. I feel like God is all over that place.

And tonight, Nate and I had the opportunity to host a pasta party and bonfire for my volleyball team. Every time we get to hang with those girls, I feel blessed. I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to coach a volleyball team, and even more blessed that Nate and I can pour into the lives of young people together. I truly believe that as we wait for our family, God keeps putting young people in our lives that we have the privilege of shaping in even the smallest of ways. And every minute we get to spend with those girls, continues to pour joy into our hearts, and I am so thankful for that.

So while disappointment is a reality in our life right now, the bigger reality is that there are God moments everywhere, and I am so grateful for that.

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