The Faith of Friends

I am not a big Beatles fan. I probably could not name them all, nor have I ever tried to find out more about them – beyond the stories my mother told about screaming, fainting masses of girls and about the boots they wore.  But they were on to something with their song lyric “I get by with a little help from my friends”.

I am not a big Hillary fan either. Yes, I know a brief history of her life as First Lady, Senator, Democratic Presidential runner up and Secretary of State. But beyond that, don’t know, don’t care. I probably should, but Ian is the knowledgeable one about such things in our family.  But I know that she did say that it takes a village to raise a child. And while I believe that the majority of such responsibility falls to the parents, she was on to something as well.

When it comes to this adoption, I cannot express how blessed and encouraged we have been by our friends and family.  Ian’s parents gave us the first little shove we needed to turn our “Maybe now is the time to adopt” to action, encouraging us to start researching and to step out in faith. My parents gave us the thumbs up, the “we are proud of you” that meant so much! Our pastors, Niki and Kelly, were so excited for us that our tentative faith grew and we solidified our commitment to the long road ahead of us. The positive reaction of all our friends going “That’s great, we’re behind you 100%” has given us courage to keep going. People praying, asking our All Powerful God to change this earthly reality into a reality defined and empowered by His purposes – right now He is protecting and caring for our child, smoothing the way through all the difficulties of international adoption, changing injustice into justice, moving mountains – all because some faithful people are praying for us. The Aunties and Uncles-to-be cheering us onward. People we know and people we barely have met giving sacrificially and lovingly to our adoption fund, making our dream a reality. The curious questions of “Why adoption, why international, why Bulgaria, why a special-needs child and how are you going to do it all?” have helped us refine our purpose and path to our special little child. You have believed in us!You have encouraged us!

In reading the last paragraph, it sounds like we already have our prize and are cradling our child in our arms. Well, we don’t – yet. But I know we are going to. Why? Because this is not just happening based on our own gumption, but because of the faith of our friends! We know that when the going gets tough, we will have you to lean on, you will help us over the hurdles ahead, you will be our “village”. We also know that the Greatest Friend of All, God our Loving Father, is faithful. He has surrounded us with you – our friends and family and is using you to strengthen and encourage and equip us for the good work He has called us to.  And it is a “calling”; we feel that it is in the very depths of our souls and spirits. I will write more about that next week, but for now, I just want to thank all of you for your faith and faithfulness, and not just for what you have already done, but for what you will do.  Thank you for taking this journey with us, carrying our burdens, lightening our load. It is hard to express just how much we need and appreciate you. We love you for loving us – we love you more for loving our child and for making it possible – in hundreds of different ways – for our child to come home to us.  Thank you, thank you, and thank you!