Crying Over Corn

So yesterday was one of those days where I started getting overwhelmed by everything that we are going to be doing over the next several months. I was thinking about fingerprints, dossiers, interviews, medical checks, criminal background checks, immigration clearances, home studies, autobiographies, yard sales, t-shirts, coffee, plane tickets, immunizations, required readings, online seminars, transracial exercises. Getting the picture? It was the kind of day that ended with me crying in the kitchen while cooking corn.

I want so badly to be a mom, and when I look at the list of "to dos" in front of me, I sometimes feel like that day will never get here. Thankfully, blessedly, the Lord saw fit to match me with the most wonderful man in the entire world for a husband. For all of my freaking-out-ness, he is full of calmness, and that is a blessing beyond measure. After a verrrrrry long hug next to the refrigerator, Adam reminded me that we are on the path that God has had laid out for us since the beginning of time, and that while it might seem, to us, that the paper work will never end and that our baby will forever be on the other side of the world, God already knows the exact date when we will bring our little angel home. He reassured me that we are doing everything we possibly can to get our little one home to us as soon as possible. And for now, that needs to be enough for me.

However, it is hard sometimes for that to be enough. I am a sinful person, and so I doubt and lose patience and question. I have to be reminded (on an embarrassingly regular basis) that God is enough, and His promise is enough. What is His promise? I am so glad you asked!

"That He who began a good work in you will carry it on until completion in the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6.

You see, God is the One who began this good work in our lives. Adam and I are not adopting because we are amazing people-we are not. We are adopting because God placed this incredible calling on our lives. God created us and brought us together so that we could adopt this precious child. Our journey toward bringing our little angel home began long before we even met. God originated this "good work" in our lives, and for that reason, we can rest in the confidence that He will be the One who carries it through to completion. If I am completely honest, that promise lifts the weight of the world off of me. The final outcome of this adoption process does not rest on our shoulders; it rests on God's. And He already has it handled! (Insert sigh of relief and enormous smile.)

The beauty of that verse in Philippians is that it applies to all of the good works that God has started in our life and in your life. God has known the end from the beginning, so we can rest most assured that our lives are not outside of His control. Our impossible circumstances are a walk in the park for Him.

So what has been troubling you? What seems insurmountable to you? What has He called you to do that you feel ill-equipped for? Dear sweet friend, I encourage you to give it to the Lord. Let Him be the One who fights for you. I know it is easy to say these things, and that living them out is much more challenging. But the thing is, and I am relearning this truth every single day, we CAN do this. We can let Him do in our lives what brings the glory to Him. We just have to trust Him.

And so we are trying each and every day to lean on the Lord and give Him reign over our lives. We are trying to do what we can to work toward this beautiful calling God placed on our lives. And most of all, we are trying to let Him do the rest. It is not easy, and I am certain that tomorrow I will need to be reminded again, but I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the Lord, the Almighty Creator of the universe, has us where He wants us and is in total control.

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14

Love,
Baylor