Coming Out of the Desert with My Head Up!

I really am amazed.
Amazed at how God works.
Here for months I have been praying,
wondering, hoping, wishing, waiting,
praying some more....at times wanting to just
totally.give.up.

In Exodus 13 when Pharaoh let the people go,
God did not take them the shortest route through to the Promised Land.
Instead he took them the long way.
So that they wouldn't go back.

This is funny to me because even though the shorter distance might have been more difficult in some aspects,
40 years in the desert wasn't too difficult for them to want to go back?
They kept going. Even when their faith wavered,
when they complained,
when God answered time and time again.
The kept going, they didn't go back.

And if they hadn't walked for 40 years through that desert,
 the Promised Land really wouldn't have meant as much to them, would it? 


"So I am willing to endure ANYTHING if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will LIVE with him. If we ENDURE hardship, we will REIGN with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, HE remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is." (2 Timothy 2:10-13, emphasis mine)

I'm glad this has been a hard journey. It WILL bring salvation and eternal glory to some along the way, one of those I believe will be Akwasi. I am thankful for a very long walk in the desert, and I now see it.
I see the Promised Land....
It's still far away but it isn't a mirage. It's real. And we are moving towards it, walking side by side with everyone who has helped us get there. So many friends have helped us, and family. I believe God is going to drop it in people's hearts to help us the rest of the way like only He can do.

It's humbling, that kind of feeling you have when you know you can't do something on your own and you have to ask for help. When you have to accept someone's gift because you know how badly you need it, and how much God is going to bless them for it, even though your pride says to say you can't accept it.

In the last 3 days, after doing the Both Hands Project, we have received $2090 in donations.  In the weeks before the project, we received $1300 worth of donations from friends, and another $400 from family. Today we got a letter in the mail that we received a $2500 matching grant from God's Grace Adoption Ministry. When family or friends send tax deductible donations to them referencing our adoption, they will match dollar for dollar up to $2500. We are so thankful for all of this! The donations keep pouring in! God's help has arrived and I am so thankful....there.are.no.words.

One step closer to holding our precious son in our arms. Out of the desert, across the water, to bring home Akwasi Tru.