Ask Him

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
Matthew 7

What a beautiful promise from our God- everyone who asks receives...

In reference to these verses my study bible says "Disciples are to persist in prayer, confident that their Father will provide whatever is best for them, according to his sovereign, gracious will."

We knew when God called our family to grow through adoption that HE would have to provide us the necessary components: an agency to teach and prepare us, a birthmother to choose us, endurance for the journey, attorneys to make things official and the funds to offset all the costs.

Every step of the journey we have asked our Father for what we need and he has provided.  Some of his provision has been supernatural and direct to our hearts- like the healing and peace he has given us after our failed adoption of "baby J".  Some of his provision has come by way of gifts of talent which we have used to fundraise- like Niles's insane musical skills or my ability to capture fun and beauty on camera.  Still other provision has come in the form of circumstances and events that only he could orchestrate- like the way we were connected with and chosen by our birthmother. 

But my favorite way God has provided for us in this journey has been the way he has moved in the hearts of both old and new friends to contribute to our needs- every, single time we asked (and even sometimes out of the blue!)

I'll be honest- asking people for donations is hard.  It is difficult to say "I have a need that I cannot fulfill on my own."  It is humbling and vulnerable whether you are asking for prayer, or donations for items to sell at a yardsale, or for people to buy and wear your bracelets or asking for them to give you $30 in exchange for a puzzle piece- but OH HOW ENCOURAGING when God's people respond!  And for that, again we want to thank each of you.  You have responded- cheerfully and without question and you have encouraged our hearts.

I pray this is an encouragement to you- last Friday we received a call from our attorney  with the amount we owed that day for our initial retainer fee...

$3,000.

Yep, $3,000 on the dot.

The exact amount you all gave us just days before it was due... no more, no less.  EXACTLY what we needed.  There is NO WAY we could have know what the exact amount would be- and we certainly had NO idea when we started the fundraiser that we would need those funds so quickly (just days after the puzzle was complete!).  And there is NO WAY we would have had the funds needed without you.


You have brought us one step closer to our Ruthie. 


I pray you are encouraged knowing that a VERY big God is at work in your life and ours.  Ask Him persistently, confidently and faithfully for what you need.