Where God Guides, He Provides!!

From the very start of my adoption journey I have always prayed God's name would be glorified! I wanted people to see HIM in every detail, big and small!! Adopting from Ethiopia as a single mom would not be possible if not for God's Grace!! I was blown away recently with how God brought me my referral of my sweet Isaiah. To go from what some would call zero hope in adopting and then 5 days later being able to see my sweet boy's face!! What a blessing!! There is another part of the story that I have been wanting to share.

Once I received my refferal I knew I would have a short time to get the money together for my referral fee. Through the kindness of others I had already been blessed with $2,400! I needed $5,600 more to be able to officially accept my referral. After talking to Lesley we both decided that because of the uncertaintity in Ethiopia with single mother adoptions it would be better to not ask for a extension as some families sometimes can, which meant I had 10-14 days to come up with the money or I took a chance on losing my referral. I had no idea how I was going to come up with the money. My human brain could not wrap my head around how in the world God was going to do it BUT in my heart I knew God WOULD provide.

The following Wednesday while at work I received $600 in donations from three different people!! God was already providing for the remainder I needed to accept my referral! That night I came home to an e-mail from a woman I only knew through e-mail. She had been very kind and had donated an item for my giveaway. I had e-mailed her the day I got my referral to thank her for her donation and to tell her I had gotten my referral. She had e-mailed me that Wednesday to check in and see how my fundraising was going. She said she and her husband had been praying for me and that they wanted to help. She has asked me to let her know how much I still needed for my referral fee. I smiled when I read her e-mail. A complete stranger who only knew me through e-mails wanted to help me. How sweet of her! I e-mailed her back that evening, thanking her for her generous heart. Not only had she donated something for my giveaway but she was now wanting to help me even more. Below is the e-mail I received from her the following morning.

Sarah,

Love your heart and your faith is inspiring. I'll put a check for $5000.00 in the mail today. ; )

It's unusual for us to have this kind of money to donate, but a few months ago we recieved a blessing and wanted to creatively give back to God. We've been 'sitting' on this money for three months now, just praying for direction on how God would have us use it. When you wrote me and told me the amount you needed, I thought it odd (in a cool, God-kind of way), because that's the exact amount we had. I continued to think and pray about the idea. Last night I told my husband about it and he immediately agreed that giving you this money is the right thing for us to do. I'm so excited for you and for the journey you are on. I'll continue to pray for you and that God will continue to make himslef known through you and your boys. :)

I still get tears in my eyes just reading these words again. How AWESOME is our God!!! I was and continue to be overwhelmed and humbled that God chose my boys and I to be a part of such an amazing story of God's Provision, Grace, Faith and Obediance!!! In just 9 days I went from being told that I may not be able to adopt from Ethiopia, to getting my referral and then getting ALL the money I needed to accept my referral!!! Can I get an AMEN and Praise the Lord Almighty!!! My sweet Brother and Sister in Christ will never know how much their gift means to me!! Isaiah will always know about the Angels who helped bring him home to his forever family!!I thank God for them and their giving hearts!! I pray God's blessings on their family!! I hope I am one day able to travel to their state and introduce them to my sweet boy once he gets home!!

I am so thankful that my prayers are continuing to be answered! God's Mighty name continues to be Glorified!! People who don't know the Lord are hearing this story and are now starting to become more interested in hearing about Him!! Praise Jesus!! People who have fealt the Lord calling them to adopt but were unsure due to the financial part are now stepping out in Faith believing that "Where God Guides, He Provides" I don't know why God chose me, but I will always be thankful he did! Not only has my Faith grown but so many other's have as well.

“You are my servant…in whom I will show my glory.” Isaiah 49:3