Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday!! I had no idea until my friend ,Traci, and her family went before the church today. They gave the staggering numbers of children in the U.S and abroad waiting for families. They shared lots of scripture about what the Lord says about caring for widows and orphans. We were so encouraged by this since we are beginning the adoption journey. It's taken a while for us to better understand what God is speaking to us, but He keeps bringing His Word as confirmation. Sadly, not everyone is supportive of our decision, but we know God is. We continue to move forward asking for His wisdom and direction. This is what He says" Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world"-James 1:27 and "A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families..." Psalm 68:5-6. After experiencing the death of my children, my faith was shaken to the core, and the foundation I thought I had in God was not solid. It was during that pain that I turned to the Lord and found Him to be so TENDER and ultimately TRUSTWORTHY. I realized Jesus had been my Savior, but He wasn't my Lord. I lived my life independently as I saw fit, and then asked God to bless it. As I have been made alive through God's healing Words, I now want to live fully dependent on Him. My life is not my own. (Gal 2:20) I was bought at a price. (1 Cor 6:20) Therefore, now that our eyes have been opened and we know there is a beautiful 8yr old girl in the Ukraine waiting for a family, we want to be obedient to God's Words from Prov 24:12 , If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay each person according to what he has done?NIV