"YES"

It was back in the Spring of 1999 when we said "YES." I love to tell this story because it still amazes and excites me. Stephen and I were sitting in a parent meeting at our children's small Christian school and Susan Hillis had just gotten up to speak. The meeting itself was actually over, but she had asked if she could share about an opportunity to have Russian orphans spend a summer in your home. I didn't know Susan at the time and I was busy filling out a form that the school required; I was not listening to her and had no interest at all, to tell you the truth. As my head was bent over the paper, I had this sensation of someone lifting my head, kind of like a marionette string being gently pulled. At the same time I heard, "You need to do this." I did not hear with my ears, but I will tell you, it was so clear to me that it was as if I had heard with my ears. I turned to Stephen and said, "I really think we are supposed to do this," to which he responded, "I know."

The Call

There have been many times over the years of our adoption journey when Stephen and I have said, "We really didn't know what we were getting into, did we?" Have you ever said that? Often we will laugh a bit and thank God that He doesn't show us our whole future ahead of time, for fear that we would pull a Jonah and run in the opposite direction! I believe we would have been quite overwhelmed had we realized what we were saying YES to when God called us to adopt. But that's the thing right there-- 

Our YES was not to the CALL; Our YES was to the PERSON.

I have just come to this realization this week as I listened to a spontaneous song by Misty Edwards. I was reading a blogger friend's  post on the challenges of the first year of her treasured son's life in their family and she shared this song. When you have a moment, listen to the voice of Father God to you. Oh how this song has been ministering to me! 

The Person

The problem with my YES being only to the call of God is that I can never fully know the extent of this call, can I? Looking back over the past 12 years I realize that I didn't really know WHAT I was saying YES to. I have no relationship with the call. But I did know WHO I was saying yes to! If my YES is to JESUS,  to the one who calls, then there I am safe. I am fully known, even if I don't fully know. Jesus never leaves me, nor will He forsake me when I don't measure up to the call of adoption. I don't have to measure up with Jesus, for He has measured up for me. I don't have to be good enough, for He Himself is Good and has imputed His Goodness to me. 

He Knew What He Was Getting Into

You may not have known what you were getting into when you said YES, but God knew what He was getting into when He called you to parent your children. He is in no way shocked by your weakness, nor is He shocked by your sin. He knew who you were, He knew who I was, when He called us to adopt. And so He, God Himself, says,

... I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] 

Hebrews 13:5 (AMP)

When my yes is to the call, then I am under pressure to perform-- pressure to meet up to a standard of parenting and success. And I find I may be tempted when I am not doing well at all to hide or pretend that all is going well and that I am fine. However, when my yes is to Jesus, the lover of my soul, then I don't have to pretend to be something that I am not. He knows me; He is not surprised by who I am. As a matter of fact, He sees the beauty and strength in me that I don't always recognize. There are seasons when we only have eyes to see our weaknesses and our failures. If you are in that place right now, I encourage you to allow the voice of the Father to speak through the song in the link above. He has such good things to say about you today. Yes, even this day when you are so aware of where you fall short as a parent.

Yes to the Living God of Living Hope

I can't know the Call like I know the Person who calls. My yes is not a one time static and finite event that I have to live up to all these years later. Oh thank you Jesus that my yes is to the Living God who is an ever present help in time of need. (Psalm 46:1) Do you see that?-- an ever present help. 

This Living God, our Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8), sees the end from the beginning. He knows where I am going when I am so absorbed in the moment that I can't really imagine the future, much less how I'll make it to bedtime! Because I have said YES to Him, because the adoptions of our children come through my relationship with Jesus rather than through a one time event back in 1999 in Atlanta, GA,  I always have hope, a Living Hope in a Living God. 

(1 Peter 1:3)

Maybe you are reading this right now and thinking that your yes was more to the Call than to the Person and wondering how you will continue on. I believe that even now the Lord is right there, ever present, to receive your YES. He is the Faithful and True One for you beloved. 

If you would like encouragement in your adoption journey, whether you are waiting for your child to come home or whether, like me, you are 12 years into it, join us at HOPE AT HOME 2012 

October 5-6 in Atlanta, GA. For more details and to register click HERE.