Psalm 23 -
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
I read from my Facebook memories, yesterday, how I couldn't sleep because of our upcoming court date when we were in Ukraine adopting Lera, back in 2009. I remember that night and how I found comfort reading the 23rd Psalm, so much so that I wrote one of my own for Lera using the original as my guide. Here it is:
For Lera❤️: Adoption Psalm -
The Lord is my Father. I shall not die! He makes me His child through adoption. He leads me home. He restores my being; He leads me to a new life and He gives me His name. Yes, though I walk through the world that abandoned me, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your Word and Your Promises, they comfort me. You prepare a family to take care of me; You anoint my head with kisses; My joy runs over. Surely goodness and grace will follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER! ~
This is Lera's baby house picture:
Today I find comfort in reading both of these. Because I know it is God who leads us. He has a plan to take care of us. His ways are greater than mine. I can do little, He can do more than my thoughts can imagine. I trust Him. He knows my name, and yours! He knew me before I was born, just as much as He knew Lera would need a mother after she was born. In our mother's wombs we were thought of. I marvel at that and it chokes me up inside, and stops me in my tracks, even hard to type what that feels like. That the God of the universe would come to me in a personal way through His son to write my story. I won't even get into that. Hopefully you will learn more of our story when you read my book (Chasing A Dream Where The Sunflowers Grow).
If you already read it, or if you have known me for any length of time, you will know one of my favorite verses is Matthew 19:26 - With God all things are possible! It is the very reason we were able to adopt Lera, because God did it! Not Jim and Debbie. I am humbled every time I think that God chose a filthy wretch like me (and Jim, and our family) to adoption. When I read Psalm 23 and the one I wrote in our Ukrainan apartment, it speaks to me still. God didn't just call us to adopt Lera. When I wrote "family" back there in our Ukrainian apartment, I now see the bigger picture being the "church". Our church family was just as much a part of our story. And before this blog gets any longer. Let me simply say, it still is. Church is a big part of every Christian too. Once we've accepted Christ Jesus as our LORD and Savior, we aren't meant to be orphans anymore, but belong to the body of Christ! Happy to say, our church has a big heart for the lost and displaced Christian, and invited three of our children, Caleb, Micah and Alice to RECHARGE, a summer youth camp for FREE! And because they did, all three came back fired up for God, which brought us all back to where our story started, church! Only three more are missing (and their families, grandchildren, etc.), but I believe God is doing something in each heart, I can just feel it!
Praise God, He never gives up on us! So why should I! (My book is just part of my/our story. Jim and I have been married for going on 33 years coming up this Friday, September 11th, but if I could tell you more, it would just be more stories of the hope that never ends.)
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