Baby Steps

Have you ever had a dream? Not the kind that you remember when you wake up in the morning, but the kind that is born in your heart and takes weeks, months and sometimes years to become reality? Steve and I have. Years ago, the dream of adopting was planted in our hearts. We didn't have this dream because we weren't able to conceive, quite the opposite, we were able to have children and did so, over and over...we were blessed with four beautiful children of our own. However, at the end of the day we found that our hearts were still longing for these children that wouldn't be born to us. Not only did that ache live in our hearts but in the hearts of our four biological children. Over the years it grew in them as they seemed to gravitate towards pictures of orphans, stories of orphans, ministries that helped support orphans.....

Then finally last year, the Lord spoke to us through the most unlikely source, our youngest child, Nathan. He came to us with his older sister, Anna, and with the two of them weeping, he said, "Mommy and Daddy, God spoke to me". Of course, Steve and I gave them both our undivided attention....it's not every day that your four year old comes to you and tells you that he's heard the voice of God....it's not every day that I hear the voice of God, so we were certainly interested in what He had to say.

He proceeded to say that as he was playing when God spoke to him and said "It is time to get the two babies (a boy and a girl)". Anna had been there and Nathan told her. Anna told us that when she heard it she "burst into tears" because she "knew it was the word of the Lord". As we sat there we began to cry as we realized that after all these years, the time of adoption was upon us and at the same time knew that we were helpless to do anything about it. Financially, things weren't the best for us but that did not diminish the hope and joy that began to stir in our hearts. We knew if God had put the dream in our hearts then He would provide for it.

It's been a year since that happened and while life has gone on, those words have remained in our hearts and on our tongues. We speak of that time often and have wondered when God was going to move, after all He said it was time.

This Wednesday we received a letter in the mail from friends of ours in Minnesota and when I opened it I began to cry as I read their letter. They spoke of God's faithfulness and our friendship and then shared how God had put it in their hearts to contribute to the "Rosen Babies Fund" and that they wanted to invest into the dream that was in our hearts. Their gift put us one fourth of the way towards what we need in order for the home study to happen. Then the process begins.

It's not like we will have our son and daughter any time soon (unless God does a miracle - which He CAN do) but it does mean that God has begun to move. Our children wept with delight and we watched as their faces conveyed the joy in their hearts and their awe of our faithful God.

As we added pennies and silver dollars to the fund, we rejoiced at the goodness of our God. "He who has begun a good work will be faithful to complete it"...

Heavenly Father, we praise you for your heart towards the orphan and for planting that love for them within us. Our desire is to become to them what you were to us...a loving Father that saw His children lost, starving, alone and dying and you found us and brought us into your Kingdom that we might forever enjoy a beautiful relationship with you. Where ever your children/our children are, please keep them from harm and watch over them and bring us safely together for your purposes. Thank you Lord. Thank you so much.

Well, we have a long way to go but this week we're not dwelling on that ... we are dwelling in Christ and His promises and are celebrating ~ baby steps.