My "Holy Ground" moment

One of the things that I've seen again and again in my walk with the Lord is that anytime he calls me to do something "big", he always gives me some scripture to confirm whatever it is he is calling me to do. That certainly proved to be true again with our adoption calling. I thought I would share my story about how it happened.
Now, Ryan and I have always been open to the idea of adoption. Ryan has a sister who was adopted when he was 10, so he has seen first hand the blessings that adoption can bring. We love children and we have both always wanted a large family. However, our four children came quickly and we found ourselves reeling with all of the physical and financial demands that came with having four children in less than six years. So, the idea of adopting was put on the back burner and life went on.
Then, about 15 months ago, God provided a very significant and unexpected financial blessing which allowed us some relief from many of the pressures we had been experiencing. So, we began to relax and think a little bit about how we could take the blessing that God had given us and use it responsibly. Again and again God brought forward the idea of adoption. Through relationships, media, and scripture, God kept turning our attention toward adoption. So, we began stalking blogs, reading agency websites, and asking lots of questions of our adoptive friends. I was pretty confident that we were supposed to move forward. Then, Ryan finally surrendered to the idea after a particuarly meaningful Focus on the Family episode.
We went online the next night, which was a Friday night and found that the agency we were most interested in was having an informational session in Raleigh on the following Monday, so we made a reservation to attend. When Monday came, I woke up feeling unsettled. I was just concerned that this was some good deed I'd cooked up, and not a call from the Lord. I had my quiet time that morning, and I still didn't have that assurance I wanted.
After lunch, I sent the kids off to play for a few minutes before we started back into our school work. I found myself sitting at the kitchen table talking to the Lord about my anxiety and asking Him to make it very clear if this was of him. I looked up and saw my Bible resting on the counter from my morning time and I just felt the need to pick it up and read from it. I decided to open it to the center- thinking that reading a Psalm would calm my spirit. However, instead of opening to the Psalms, I opened to Isaiah chapter 43. The subtitle was "Israel's Only Savior." I had no idea how this could relate to my need, but I decided to read on. Now, the chapter as a whole had nothing to do with adoption, but some of the verses just lept off the page and I felt the Lord was telling me, "these apply to you, this is food for YOUR soul today." Here are what some of the verses said:

• "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west."v.5
• "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth."v.6
• But the clencher for me was verse 3. "For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead." After I read it, I decided I wanted to know where Cush and Seba were, so I went to my study Bible and searched the notes. I still couldn't find out the location of Cush and Seba, so I went back up to reference the verse number and re-read verse 3. This is what it said in the text of my study Bible: "I give Egypt for you ransom, ETHIOPIA and Seba in your stead." Well, needless to say, I started weeping. I knew that God was talking to me. Peace came rushing in like a flood. I was overwhelmed with the personal way my God chose to answer me that day.

One of the big added benefits that came from that moment was with my oldest daughter. She came in before I'd gotten myself under control and saw me sitting with 2 Bibles in my lap with tears streaming down my face. I was able to show her what God had revealed to me. When she re-read the verse in the study Bible, her eyes got as big as saucers and she said "Mom, how could that happen? How could Ethiopia be right there?" I said the only thing I could think of to say: "Because Abby, God's word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword!" She couldn't wait to tell her daddy all about it when he came home that night!

People who love our children are naturally concerned about whether or not this adoption will affect our children. All I can think is, "Dear Lord, please affect my children!" If my children are affected to trust in His word, rescue the orphans, sacrifice for someone in need, or get out of their comfort zone- bring it on!