One year ago today, we were JUMPING FOR JOY as we received Travel Approval from China.
(this post)
It was Friday, and we were home from school for Veterans Day.
11/11 was the deadline to make the next travel group to China.
If we received our approval by that day, we could travel the day before Thanksgiving. Otherwise we would have to wait until the middle of December.
We wanted so badly to travel as soon as possible, and to top it off, the Thanksgiving trip would put us with Sofi the day after her birthday.
It all seemed like the best scenario, but Travel Approval is unpredictable. Lots of things can happen in receiving that type of paperwork.
That whole week was intense. We were preparing to leave in 2 weeks, just in case, but praying it would all really happen.
That Friday morning, we were all home, and we could feel time tick, as we waited for this last chance.
The phone rang - our adoption agency! - the excitement was awesome - God had provided!
We had 12 days left to prep our whole family and life for a 2-week trip to China.
But, that's not all. We still had visas and other crucial details that still hung in the balance.
Our agency said that we had met the deadline for November travel, but she couldn't guarantee our visas would return in time with recent trends. She said we could plan for December travel, if we wanted.
NO WAY!
We were all in. God was working out all things, and I was confident.
Let me expound further on my confidence.
God's whispers and guidance through this entire process for our family was amazing.
I mean amazing.
He had led us here, and had spoken, and was still speaking so many confirmations.
With each step in faith, God was so present and so real. Most of it is very hard to describe, but as I have learned to listen better and more consistently, I have realized, even more, how constantly and clearly God speaks.
We had been in the process of adopting for almost 4 years at that point.
But, for at least 6 years God had been whispering 11/11 to me.
Over and over at random for all those years, He spoke that something would be fulfilled at that time. I had a very private expectancy every November, thinking what dream or calling might God bring about?
Then, at this November, as the deadline for travel was announced - 11/11 - I felt the whispers -
I felt His presence and faithfulness in a personal way.
I was still anxious and praying so hard during that week - and honestly, would have preferred a call earlier than the deadline :) - but I could feel Him repeat again:
You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21
That 11/11 promise did help me in that week, but it was much more than that.
God not only knows our concern and prayer in the moment, He goes before us.
He had prepared this path and had provided all the way down to the whispers I needed.
He had spoken things to me, just for this one day, for years.
Our God of great Love is not a mystery, as we tend to think.
He loves to reveal things to us.
He does amazing work over spans of time. He reveals and connects scriptures for us over time, He can bring revelation, hope, and comfort over time.
Our faithfulness - as broken as it is - becomes joined with His - and we are transformed by Him.
I have learned to listen with even more hope and expectation in prayer and study.
Not only did that whisper of 11/11 bring me a special hope in those days of waiting, but it solidified even further God's hand in our family and in Sofi's life.
That truth extends into all our lives.
May we all continue to listen and hear His whispers.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
(This year our day is beginning with jammies and boots.)
