In the month of May I had 2 surgeries... 2! That is crazy! Here is one thing I realized - God did NOT make our bodies to go through surgery, we are not meant to be put under, cut open, etc... Don't get me wrong I am so thankful for modern medicine/science and know the luxury of medicine and science extending our life and making the quality of our life better... BUT... I do NOT want to ever have surgery again!! You will never hear of this girl going under the knife for elective surgery! There was a time that I thought I might want a "boob job" (lets get real girls we think about these things) and have thought of other options as well.. but NOPE! LOL... Just putting all that out there :) Without going into unnecessary detail my surgeries were to remove a cyst/fallopion tube (I have had a cyst removed before after Owen was born and also had a cyst when pregnant with Eliana, doc says I am just a cyst producer!), and dental surgery (to get my last wisdom tooth, a couple fillings, and the biggie a gum skin graft done with cadaver skin. ahhh). Both surgeries went well and everything went as planned, etc, etc... But man did it feel like we were keeping our head above water, even now as the medical bills roll in we feel like we are bobbers out in rough water... We are excited to see how God will provide through this craziness as well as He has thus far in our adoption!
Now on to brighter stories... one paragraph of craziness is enough for me! So I MUST say - God is GOOD! It is awesome to watch God show up!
I blogged about our next installment of adoption payments and the need for almost $8,000 in the coming months, and God made sure to let us know HE IS WITH US. In the month of April we were able to gather $2,535 in adoption money. God has provided through cleaning jobs, misc work, our at home business success, a donation by Noon Day, friends helping with a garage sale, and AMAZING random donations. It is wonderful the way God provides! With our side jobs I was overwhelmed with the fact that now these people are coming along side us in our journey. They will pray for us, think of us, and lift us up. The donations from those that LOVE us, overwhelms my heart. We have received $1,000 just from 3 different friends. We KNOW that their giving is sacrificial to them, and that it is by faith that they give generously to us. We are not only grateful but pray the Lord pours blessings back on them for their giving. And the last of our awesome April giving was a "random" (nothing random with God) donation of $1,000.
Here is the brief version of our "random" donation - It was another day at Ballet Class (For Eliana) the moms sat and chatted about normal life stuff (kids, home school, regular school, summer plans, etc...) like we always do, nothing too deep but we have a comradery amongst us. This isn't a group I have talked a lot about adoption with. It feels awkward to say "Hi my name is Dawn I have two kids and we are working on bring home our 3rd from Africa, I love Africa, want to talk about Africa?" LOL..... so... the "moms" kind of know we are adopting but hadn't asked many details so I hadn't given many... anyway (moving on before this story gets too long) One mom randomly asks me about our adoption, she asks some pretty in depth questions and is suddenly really interested. This caught me off guard because while we have friendly convo we aren't that close of friends (I mean we weren't even facebook friends yet if that tells you anything, he he). So I gladly tell her everything I can without letting her eyes glaze over, and at the end of our convo she says
"well.... I am not sure what it means but I think God is calling us to give you money towards your adoption."
I instantly CRIED!
I didn't care if they were going to give us $20, or $20,000 in that moment what I heard was -
"Dawn this is God, just want you to know I am here with you on this journey, a loving reminder that I'm in this with you all."
She went on to tell me that they were praying about it and didn't know what God was asking of them but she wanted more details etc...
A few weeks later (and a long story short) after some communication, lots of prayer, their family felt God calling them to sacrificially give us $1,000! I couldn't believe it when she told me... I was stunned that I couldn't even blubber anything out but Thank You. I went to my car and cried (happy tears).
It is a wonderful wonderful thing when we get money from our family and friends who love us. We know they are sacrificing and honoring the Lord and His love pours out in those gifts. But there is also something about a practical stranger writing you a sacrificial check for $1,000 that screams God. Or a stranger paying you $50 for your $12 fundraising shirt that screams God. Or a stranger who just wanted their house clean but pays you double that screams God. Or friends unselfishly donating their garage sale profits the screams God. Or an anonymous "friend" leaving a note in the mailbox with $20 the screams God!
When we started this journey we had NO money saved up (not how they recommend you do it.) We had no way to come up with $25,000. We still don't know where the money will come from. But we know that if we hadn't gone on this journey we would be missing out on these awesome opportunities to see God show up like He is. We can only imagine what the coming months will bring.
So yes we have a LONG way to go on this journey, and I am often more weary then not, but the Lord is good. He will not leave us gasping for air in the waves, but He will give us the strength to swim against the current, to Love fiercely, and change the world in whatever ways He calls us!
Prayers and Blessings - Dawn
1 comment:
Jehovah Jireh!! I can't wait to meet the new little Prather. Hugs and love to all of you.
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