I don’t even know how to begin. What words do you use to describe such a momentous event? An event that will be written in your family history book as the day the Lord provided? I guess you just say it, right? Just say it fast and get it out into the open, so here goes…

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Insane, right?! Our adoption is completely paid for and we aren’t even an official Waiting Family yet! Praise Jesus!

For Christmas, one of my beautiful cousins, Heather, made a bunch of magnets with all the different names that the Lord is called and referred to in the Bible. She brought them and allowed family members to pick out one to keep that means something to them. I chose Jehovah Jireh, The Lord will Provide. 

This magnet has been on our family calendar for the past eight months as a reminder that the Lord does provide and will provide for our every need. We may not get everything we want, but we will certainly get all that we need. Just as I said in a previous post, we have felt the presence and provision of the Lord through every step of this process, and have had such a peace about the fact that He was going to lift the burden of the financial end of adoption from us. However, I never expected Him to do it so speedily. I never expected Him to do it so easily. And I never would have expected the provision to come from the places it did.

When will we, in all our prideful humanity, stop underestimating the power of God?!

So here is what the Lord has done for us this weekend:

Last week, we got an email from a customer that had purchased a growth chart from us at the beginning of the year when I had first started making them. We never met them. They were friends of sisters of friends {or something confusing like that} and even the delivery of the growth chart to them consisted of many hands passing off to other hands. In their email, they said that they had read our latest blog on fundraising and wanted to meet us via FaceTime to talk more about our adoption. We were able to make that happen this weekend and during our conversation they said these words,

“Well, when we read your blog, we both just really felt like the Lord was telling us that we needed to tell you, ‘You’re done.’ You don’t have to make another growth chart. You are done with fundraising. The Lord is paying off your adoption.”

I fell apart. I mean, I think I kind of held it together in front of them, but inside, I fell apart. I’m even tearing up as I write this. We emailed them later that night after we calculated how much we would have left to raise after all of the orders from growth charts and canvases we currently have go through, and we sent them the amount. A check in that amount is currently on it’s way to us in the mail.

This couple made it very clear to us that they felt compelled to do this because the Lord told them to do so. They wanted us to know that it was God who provided this money to us, not them, and they were simply the middle man in the exchange of funds. Wow. What an amazing example of obedience and stepping out in faith. I pray that God blesses this couple beyond measure for saying YES to His plan to use them in our story of adoption. May their barns be filled to overflowing and their vats brim over with new wine! Proverbs 3:10 

So what do we do now that we’re done? Well, we certainly don’t stop!

As far as our fundraising plans go, we still have the photo session raffle, the Stella & Dot jewelry party, and an online Jamberry party coming up that we committed to before we knew that our adoption was fully funded. I have talked to these wonderful ladies and they have decided to move forward as planned, only instead of taking all proceeds, we will only be taking a portion. The proceeds made off of these events will go into our adoption fund as a reserve for any extra costs that may arise down the road. Once again, those could be things like out-of-state fees, renewal of fingerprints or home visits {if we don’t get chosen before they expire}, or potential medical bills of the birthmother. If we do not need those funds, all of the extra funds we raise will go to another family’s adoption! We do not plan on pocketing anything the Lord has provided for the sake of folly or our own personal benefit. Our plan is to pay it forward to another family that is walking our same road.

ALSO! We have decided to maintain my business of growth charts, canvases, {and if I get my way} apparel. I know it is bold to tell you so in such beginning stages, but perhaps you could be praying along side us as we seek the Lord’s will for what is to come. We are currently building a website where we will be able to take orders, ship items, and keep contact with customers. A large percentage of what we make will additionally be given away to families for their adoption costs. God has blessed us immensely in our fundraising, and we feel that He is now asking us to help others in theirs, as well.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have given to us; given of your time, money, prayers, and encouraging words. We are thankful for each gift that has been given. No matter how small or how large, each has taken us one step further down the road to bringing home our baby. We are left just standing in breathless awe of the God that has made straight our paths {Proverbs 3:6} and kept our feet from slipping and our anxious doubts at bay {Psalm 94:18-19}.

I will say it again. I will shout it all my days. “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!” Psalm 126:3

With love, Malorie