We Leave Tomorrow!

Today was my last day of work until before our trip - Yippee! Tonight, we're working through the final checklist of things to be done before we leave town. Todd mowed the yard, I was in charge of installing Mia's car seat in the car. Easier said than done. Apparently, there is a car seat system in newer cars called LATCH. Our 1999 Honda Accord doesn't have that. I couldn't make heads or tails out of the seat installation instructions. So I called our local fire department and they told me to come on up and they would install it for me. An hour later, we still weren't satisfied on how the seat was fitting in the car in the rear-facing position. This LATCH deal apparently makes all the difference. So, I guess we'll have to see what we can do about making the proper adjustments when we get back from our trip. Hmmm.

Lauren 's first day of school is tomorrow; it is also her first day of middle school (sixth grade). She's growing up so fast! She's excited about going off to what we used to call "junior high," but mostly she's just excited about leaving tomorrow to go get her new little sister!

We're all counting down the hours until we get on the plane to wing our way to Mia! This afternoon, I glanced over my journal entries for the past couple of years. Although it's been less than a year since we filed our application to adopt from Taiwan through Journeys of the Heart, those of you know know us well know that we have been waiting years for this adoption to happen! I am amazed at the journey God has taken us on and how far we’ve come. I know that we are always growing in Christ, but He surely has brought us a long way in our faith and our level of trust in Him. I remember how very discouraged I was when we cancelled our first home study. It seemed like we would never begin our adoption process. Then, after the breast cancer when all the agencies turned us down to adopt from China, I was in the depths of despair. It is nothing short of miraculous that we are now just a few short hours away from leaving to go get our Mia. God has blessed us with the perfect little girl for our family. Everyone says what a lucky little girl she is to be taken out of an orphanage and placed in a Christian family, but we know that we truly are the lucky ones!

I believe that God will continue to reveal more of His nature to us through our relationship with Mia. God’s love for us--His adopted children--is a mystery, but I feel like parents who choose to adopt here on this earth get the “inside scoop” on that mystery, and God lets us in on the secret of how He feels about us and just how much He loves us! It is one thing to love your biological offspring – it comes naturally and it isn’t much of a stretch for most people. But to choose to love a total stranger, to take them into your family and make them equal to your own flesh and blood – to make them joint-heirs and give them the same rights, privileges and love as you do your “own” children – that is a perfect picture of God’s love for us, isn’t it? Selah.

So tonight, just a few short hours before we are about to embark on this remarkable journey, I want to take a moment to share with you, my friends and family, just how grateful we are to God for the incredible privilege of becoming Mia Ju-Hsuan's parents. It is a humbling thing to have the God who created the very universe move on our behalf to bring about such a blessing as this for our little family! It is nothing short of remarkable to think about how He knew Mia before she was even formed in her mother's womb, and how He orchestrated events to make this little girl a part of our family. To Him be all the thanks and the glory!