Tuesday, November 3, 2009

*~*HAPPY ADOPTION EVE!!!*~*

Words cannot adequately express the fullness in my heart knowing that tomorrow our sweet "Punkie" will be officially our daughter. Taking words from a song by Third Day (if you've never heard this song, it's worth a listen):
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Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God....
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For now, I'll leave you with this devotion written by Steven Curtis Chapman that a new friend shared with me (thanks, Monica). I think it helps put into words what Joe & I are about. I look forward to sharing pictures & thoughts from our special day tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers!
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It wasn't until our second adoption that I understood what God was doing with my family through adoption. I walked into church on September 1, 2002, wholeheartedly convinced that we were not going to adopt a second time. During that service, our good friends, the Coley family, who have four biological and five adopted children, were brought up on stage for the dedication of their latest adopted child, a boy with special needs.What happened next was almost as if God lifted my chin, and as clearly as I've ever heard Him speak to my heart, He said, "I've heard you sing the song 'Open the Eyes of My Heart', and I've heard you pray, 'I really want to know You and experience You.' I know you mean that." Then He showed me this family on stage, and He said, "There it is; that's my heart. That's your story; that's my story. This is a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. There it is, in front of you."And it was this family with whom we've walked through some of the darkest parts of adoption. We've gone with them into treatment centers; we've shed tears together. They knew exactly what they were getting into, but still, here they were, saying, "This is what God has called us to do. We know it's messy; we know it's uncomfortable, and it's going to turn our lives upside down, but this is God's heart."Yet God didn't stop there. He said, "I delight in setting the lonely in families, so I'm going to keep pouring out my love for orphans, and I'm looking for hearts to pour it into. I'm looking for people who really want to do what I'm doing."
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He didn't say, "If you don't do this, I'm going to be disappointed with you." Instead, it's as if, as a Dad, God put His arm around me and said, "You don't have to do this, but I'm inviting you in, because I want you to know Me, and I want our relationship to go deeper. If you really want to see Me show up, I want to take you on another adventure."
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So I broke the news to my family and told them, "I think God wants us to bring another child to stand under the waterfall of grace." I just pictured God pouring out His grace, inviting us to bring another child to stand under it. God was saying, "I'm going to bring them into my family, but I want to invite you to be a part of that. I'm going to glorify myself through this."
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That's why there are so many waiting children; those are opportunities for God to show up and reveal His glory. They are each an invitation from God's heart, saying, "Come and know Me. And I will make myself known through you, members of my body, the church, as you experience the miracle of adoption."Am I willing to follow God wherever He may lead so that I might more fully know Him and make Him known? ~Steven Curtis Chapman

Be Blessed ~ Dardi

4 comments:

rrpr6 said...

We stand at the Threshold of Heaven today - those who understand know that it is Holy Ground! Those who don't understand will see and feel the prescence of the Amazing Grace that flows from the Threshold.........we stand in awe and are amazed at the priveledge we have to enter the Holy of Holies while our human feet are still planted on the earth! Rev 3:8 "I know your deeds. See I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut....you have kept my word and have not denied my name..."
Rev 3:12 goes on to say......
"He who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God..........and I will also write on him my new name"! Dardi - this speaks to the new name of your little "punkie". I rejoice in her new name! Glory to God on Highest - we are full of Thanksgiving! Amen

Amy said...

Been thinking about you through out the day- cannot wait to hear the details! Congratulations- Love you guys! Amy

Kimmie said...

Yeah Dardi...waiting to hear the rejoicing...

and I loved the devotion. Is it from a devotional book? I am going to share it with my husband. Steven Curtis Chapman gave us $4k for Princess Mercy's adoption...what a blessing!

Kimmie

Meredith said...

Oh my goodness... I've been so busy with baby that I haven't checked blogs lately. You have no idea how much this post spoke to me. While Gabe won't officially be ours until sometime after February we're already feeling the call keep building our family.... and I'm so scared (mostly for finding the finances) to submit to Him... and this post was EXACTLY what I needed to read. Thanks Dardi (I may steal the SCC part for a post I've been working on :)