View from one side of our apartment

From Denise on our last full day in Russia:

Just as Jim (aka Mr. Beaver) and I suspected, this second portion of our trip has been demanding and grueling and tiring and sometimes trying. But what we can see through the current extremes we face is that God is WITH us. God is providing sufficient grace for our service in His name in this place. He is caring for the two of us. He is caring for our nine children at home in America, and He is tenderly cradling our three new children here as they battle the emotions of fear, saddness, and even some anger at a system that will, Lord willing, join us as a family but then require we separate for more than ten days.

This morning I flipped in my Bible to Psalm 62 and read three of my all-time favorite verses:

My soul wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
On God my salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength,
My refuge is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us.
(Psalm 62:5-8)

My hope is not in my circumstances. My hope is not in people--not in our interpreter, not in our adoption facilitator, not even in the judge. My hope is in God, and in Him I can rest as we sprint through yet another stretching day.

I thank God that He has placed me in a position in which I cannot rely on myself that I might more fully learn to rely on Him. If there were no other benefits to adopting, this blessing alone would be worth all of the effort and sacrifice. However, our God is so good that growing in our understanding of His care is not the only benefit of our effort to adopt. Three beautiful, charming children will soon be OUR children. What joy!