Here We Grow...

I can hardly believe we are just days away from bringing our son home forever. With God's favor, we have been generously given enough award miles to take all four of the kids plus bring Jordan home...all 5 received award tickets! Wow!

My dream was to take everyone, and my hope was for each of the children to know the birthplace of their brother...to see the inner beauty of the Haitian men, women and children amidst the ashes and rubble of its poverty...to see the faces of a beautiful and strong people against the backdrop of Haiti's rolling green hills, misty mountains and clear blue seas...to meet and thank those who have dearly loved and cared for our son...to appreciate in some small way the sacrifices of time and energy and unconditional love that have been made to bring sweet Jordan into our lives and into our family.

In the early stages of our adoption process, our dear friend Christy Nockels put the unfolding of our story into a song. While she wrote the song with us in mind, it was also written for the thousands who share their own unique adoption story. No one has the same experience, but we all share the common bond of bringing a child home. It's an inexplainable journey filled with joy, heartache, waiting, confusion, faith, exasperation, patience, anxiety, lack of patience, testing and more...

If you've heard us use the phrase "we're on our way," it's because of this tender song that tells the story of how God used our youngest daughter to touch the hearts of our whole family and move us toward adoption. Here are some of the lyrics...

Ever wonder what it’s like, 

When God dreams a dream,

And puts that dream into a family?

He might start with the youngest,

And let her lead the oldest,

He loves to trust a child with mystery…

We’re on our way...

To a place we cannot go without our faith

Across the big, blue sky there you await

We’ll never be the same…

So, here we grow…

With a love so big it’s bound to bring you home

Oh we love you more than you could know

Hold on tight…

We’re on our way, baby...

copyright © 2012 Christy Nockels

God uses "the least of these" to accomplish His purposes. I have no doubt. I see it all the time. God has stretched us in ways we could not have anticipated and in ways we could not have endured without faith in Him and His plan. In 2012, When Christy wrote this song, I could hardly imagine the day we would leave for Haiti...now that day is just around the corner. Praise God.

While the journey to go get our son is close at hand, the road to growing our family is only just beginning. Please keep our travel and safety in your prayers. Please pray for Jordan's heart and that God will, in a way only He can, prepare him for his family. Pray for Baker, Brennan, Cara and Eliza as they transition to life with a new sibling. Pray for Don and me as we "start over" in our parenting journey. There are many unknowns and many "not yets".  Our desire is to live and love one day at a time...in His peace...in His presence. Thank you again for indulging us, praying for us, giving to us, cheering us on and for loving us through this time. Our hearts are stretched, and we will never be the same (thank God)...

Here We Grow!

But God...

I opened my email yesterday morning and waiting there in my inbox was a message we have anticipated for 2+ years now...

"Dear Mr. & Mrs. Donahue...

we are pleased to inform you that 

Jordany Donahue may be scheduled for 

the final visa interview..." 

The final one. What does this mean? We are closer today than we have ever been...our baby boy will be home soon, very soon. How can we possibly express the emotions running through our hearts and heads?!

The formal adoption process, the paperwork, the delays, the waiting, the unknown timeframe... all of it is almost done...it really, really is...almost done! How can it be?! Something so long-awaited is about to come to fruition...something only God Himself could orchestrate to its fullness and bring about this most dramatic turning of the page...

God is the Change Agent, the Difference Maker...
The only one who can fill my empty cup until it runneth over, the only one who can remind me that He means it all for good...
In every season, in every stage, there would be no difference, no challenge to our faith, no change in our life...

"but God"

I am overwhelmed by the process...

but God makes all things possible

I am weak from waiting...

but God is my refuge & strength

I am depleted and have no answers...

but God gave the increase

I have so little faith...

but God is faithful

I am insufficient...

but God is my sufficiency

I am weary and heavy laden...

but God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever

I can't wait any longer...

but God is full of compassion, long-suffering & filled with mercy

It is God alone who turns our heads and our hearts from the impossible to the possible. There is no good thing that does not fully emanate from the hands of our Maker. How Great is Our God...from everlasting to everlasting, He is faithful.

God's skillful hands weave a tapestry unlike any I could ever imagine. Every stitch is divinely intertwined. Every knot is made beautiful. Every cord is richly hued. Every tear is patched and tightly woven. Every inch of every fiber is filled with mercy and grace, and the blanket over us is love...His love.

So...what does all this mean?

It means that... 

no part of this journey could have been possible without God and... 

JORDAN WILL COME HOME IN LESS THAN A MONTH!

Our hope, God-willing, is to take our family of SIX to Haiti and 

come home as a family of 

SEVEN!

Of course, it will take a miracle to organize and orchestrate flights and schedules, but we have already been blessed by offers to help.

If you're here, reading this, you are part of our journey. We are blessed by you. Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus and for rejoicing with us as we anticipate bringing our son home.

BUT GOD... 

Called us

Sent His own son to die for us

 Claimed us as His own

Adopted us as His sons and daughters

He is the great Change Maker... He alone is the difference!

One Step Closer...

PRAISE GOD! 

JORDAN HAS HIS HAITIAN PASSPORT! 

Next Step: U.S. VISA!

Final Step: HOME!

Every journey begins with a step, and no journey is the same. Sometimes we step with conviction, and sometimes we step with trepidation. Every time we step, though, eyes wide open or eyes shut tight, we have to step in faith. Faith that He will see us through and will not lead us astray. Faith that His plan is better, and His time table is perfect.

This morning I read in a Parenting by Design devotional, "God moves at His pace, and we have to trust that He knows what is best for our family. When we get impatient and try to force our will, we can lose God's path...That's not to say we should stop moving forward...and just wait for God to move...He requires that we keep pursuing His path with diligence. But ours is an active dependence, constantly moving forward and yet content with wherever God's path leads us. We must have faith in the direction God is leading us and patience that He knows just how to proceed."

I find that I'm often trying to force "my will" and in doing so, I lose God's path, which becomes frustrating, especially when I want things done on my terms (read: quickly). If anything has taught me (and continues to teach me) that His way is better, it's been through this process of adopting.

I continue to relinquish my desires to His while trying to actively pursue the path He has placed before me. It's the only way. At the end of the day, the time table is not in my control. Every day, I remind myself of that and start anew. Thankfully, His grace covers my humanity, and as I realize that His ways truly are better than mine, I understand more fully the need to walk in faith and not by my time table.

Our realistic hope in December was that we would bring Jordan home in February, but the passport took three times the "typical" processing speed. We will not rely on a time table to predict when Jordan will be home, but our prayer is that we can go get him this spring; however, we take one step at a time and rejoice over each milestone in the process.

Regardless, our baby is coming home! I can't wait to see him and wrap him in my arms...that day is coming, and today we are one step closer! Thank God!