My First Date

I came home from a busy day of meetings, prayer and a hunt for a new dishwasher (it is incredible what happens when Todd leaves the country...broken bones, broken appliances, broken cars).

How beautiful to come home to an email entitled, "My First Date."

In his own words, Todd...

"Hey Vickie, Ashley, Jackson...

I just finished my first date with Gabbie!

She is beautiful, perfect. God's grace is amazing. She has a peaceful spirit. Very sweet. I held her for over an hour. She spit on me, laughed at me, bonked me in the nose, stuck her finger in my mouth, put her head on my chest. It was an awesome bonding experince.
She did not cry once. Did I mention how much she liked me? She held my finger and laughed when I tickled her.

A good first day.

I love you all,
Daddy"

God is so faithful. When we had been on this journey a while, and the State Department said that this would not work, some of our dearest friends and family were a bit hesitant of our decision to continue. It was only out of love for us. They did not want our hearts to be broken if this fell through.

I thought a lot about that. A broken heart is so very painful, I know. The realization that I have come to though is this...Who better to fix a broken heart than the Creator Himself. I have prayed for courage on this journey. I do not want to look back on my life and see missed opportunities. I want to see that I gave it a try, that I lived life to the fullest and that I was radically obedient to the call of God on my life!

C.S. Lewis wrote about love and the risk involved.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” -C.S. Lewis

There will be pain. I will be broken, but I will not be broken beyond repair.

Right now, we are so grateful for the "aunties" that are caring for Gabbie right now. It has not been without sacrifice. I know that it will be heartbreaking to say good bye to her when that time comes.

So today, please join me in praying for

*Gabbie's family that has taken such good care of her until now

*a gentle ease of releasing her to us

*the Lord to fill the void that she will leave in their hearts and lives

*Gabbie to be released to us, by the government, during this time