And the Lord is Faithful...

"Lord, if you don't want me to do this, you will have to stop this or bring me the children you want me to have." Little did I know when I woke up from my tubal ligation in January of 2004, that indeed, He would follow through, not once, but twice. On April 1, 2005, the Lord brought me 3 little girls to care for. My 3 nieces. It was a long, dramatic, Child Protective Services case. Without going through all the details, for the purpose of this post, the ending was June 26, 2006 with a judge granting the adoption of the youngest member or those girls, Miranda. That expanded our family of 4, to a family of 5. Fast forward two weeks to July 5, 2006. I was invited by my mother in law to go with her to the birth of little miss Claire. It was an amazing moment in my life. I saw her and knew that she would be with me. Three months later, she still was not. I pleaded and waited, but the most I got was a weekend here or there. I remember folding laundry that day and praying about her. I felt and overwhelming sense of peace come over me and the Lord said, "It's not time yet." From that moment, I waited. Watching the situation unfold. Time after time, I thought, this could be it, but it never came. Years rolled by and I watched other people get to see her first steps, hear her first word, get her first tooth, write her first word, draw her first picture. My heart broke. I threw my fist at God and said, "Why, Lord!" "It's not time yet." My mother in law was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2011. She had not been feeling well for many months prior to that. She had already sent Claire to live with my sister in law. She knew that we wanted her and have since the beginning, but chose to send her to my sister in law anyway. Doubts filled my head. Did I hear God wrong? Did I make it up? I was angry. At everyone. I felt like, for some reason (satan's lies) my mother in law and sister in law did not think I was a good enough mom and needed to keep her away from me. (again lies from the evil one.) I felt like, this precious child, whom I knew was supposed to be with me, was with someone else and that is where she was going to stay. My mom in law had already made her will and left her with my sister in law. Book closed, end of story. BUT, in the back of my head, I heard Him reminding me, that even when there seems to be no way anything can ever change, HE CAN ALWAYS MAKE A WAY. I held on. And HE did. On November 5th, 2011, my husband called me and said his sister called him and said that she couldn't keep Claire. Her hands were too full and Claire wasn't working well in their family. She was a nightmare at school, uncontrollable at home, acting out. She spent most of her time in time out and my sister in law said that that wasn't fair to her or anyone else. Could we take her? This was on my husband's birthday. What a perfect gift! I went and picked her up the next morning. Elated, that my last T Girl was finally coming home, where she belongs. I knew that my hands would be full, by hearing the stories of how horrible she had been, however anytime that we had ever had her, we didn't have any behavior issues or acting out. She wasn't an angel, but never like what I heard. She was a different child. In fact, I don't think anyone believed me when I would tell them that she was great with us. But, after a few weeks, my mother in law saw a change in Claire. At this point, my mother in law's condition had worsened to the point where my husband, sister in law and myself were taking weekly rotations staying with her to take care of her. On one of my shifts, of course Claire was with me, we were watching tv in the evening. She looked at me and Claire cuddling on the couch and said that she knew that Claire was where she was supposed to be. She said Claire always cuddles with her, but she looks so peaceful and content with me. She told me I was so good with her. The next week, she changed her will to leave sweet Claire with us. On February 6th, 2012 my mother in law passed away. I still miss her. We had had our rocky times, but God always brought us back together. I won't go there now, but I want you to know, she was a great Grandma to her babies and a great mom/provider for her children. So, I write all this to share with you that as of 9/6/2012, I am the mom to 4 beautiful T girls! The adoption is final. It has been a rocky road, (love some ice cream right now...) but with the Lord guiding us, we have made it. I encourage you with my testimony, if the Lord promises something, He WILL make it happen. Even when it looks hopeless in the worlds eyes, keep your eyes looking at Him. He will make a way. One funny thing to share. A quotable quote with me. James and I are doing a bible study with the girls last week. We were reading about when Jesus tells the parable of the talents and how when you are faithful with little, God will give you more. I piped up and said, "Well, I guess God saw us faithful with our two girls because He gave us two more!" Everyone thought that was funny, but it is true. God did answer my prayer that day before I had surgery. He wasn't done with our family, yet. Be blessed, Until we read again...