(belated) Mother's Day Musings

This Mother's Day felt a little different for me.  I felt much more introspective and, for lack of a better word, aware this Mother's Day.  We probably won't have our babies home until late 2013 or sometime in 2014, but in some ways I already feel like a mother.  They may not have even been conceived yet, but I am consumed with love for our kids.  I think a lot about how exciting it will be to walk out of the West Sands transition house and fly home with them, and how exciting it will be to get them out of their cribs in the mornings, feed them, and clean up their messes.  

My heart aches to have them with us, yet, at the same time, my heart aches for their birth mother.  I pray for her daily--that she will have enough to eat, that she will be healthy and protected.  It's an odd reality, to pray for someone's health and safety all the while knowing that something--be it disease, death, or simply extreme poverty and too many kids at home already--will inevitably cause her children to be taken out of her arms and placed into mine.  My heart aches for HER.  I will be honored with the task of raising her babies, and I will be tasked with honoring her by loving them well.

And, this wouldn't be a proper Mother's Day post without a few words about my own mother.   She has taught me compassion, and who Jesus is, and the importance of a good skin care regime.  I am so very thankful for her.

my mama with her mama

Reaping God’s Harvest
Guest post by Jon 

1 Corinthians 3:2 - I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 - ⁶I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Two weeks ago on Monday, on her way home from jury duty, my wife’s car decided to breakdown.  After a stressful conversation in which I asked repeatedly “what happened” and she answered repeatedly “I don’t know, I heard a bang, and now there is a loud noise” I decided I needed to view the car in person.  After driving to where she was, we quickly determined that it needed to go to the shop.  When I arrived, popped the hood, and examined the damage with the service tech, we noticed the engine was not in its proper place.  In fact, it was falling through the bottom of the car!  The right side of my brain went berserk crunching numbers as they soared into the thousands for the potential cost of the damage.  Little did I know that this was just God shaking the fruit from one of the “trees” in our life, the seeds of which he had planted long ago. 

You see, when I was in grad school, I took a class on negotiation.  We had a guest speaker who owned a car dealership, and he said to take your car to the dealership for repairs and service when possible.  The point of this is to establish a relationship with the dealership as a repeat customer, a major advantage when negotiating, which can lead to saving money on future expensive repairs.  I have since used this advice and take our cars to the same dealership for all repairs.   This was a seed that was planted, and God was waiting to use it at the right time.

Now, back to the car.  As Tuesday morning passed with no word, I continued to grow anxious, and the numbers continued to spin upwards in my head.  Finally, the phone call came.  Our dealership had determined that the issue was due to a lack of proper installation in a prior repair, which caused the engine to fall off its mount.  While I was geared and ready to negotiate, God already had this worked out.  The dealer then informed me that they would be taking care of the bill since it was their fault. 

As we picked up our car this past Friday, I was reminded of some things that have been planted in my life that God is harvesting right now.  Things like a comment from an ex-girlfriend nearly 10 years ago about fathering future children who would not be biologically mine, my new job which somehow ties together all of the skills I’ve acquired over a random career, and even a small seed planted about car maintenance that he used to save us over $6,000 during a time when every dime is going to save for an expensive adoption.  

Experiences like this are a reminder that God is in control, and I am grateful to be along for the ride.