A peace that passes all understanding

This was one long, busy, tiring, and rather complicated week, yet we survived.  I'm actually really looking forward to starting school on Monday morning with my 22 new little darlings under a new principal with a possibility of being out for at least a month at some point during the year if God does indeed lead us back to Colombia for an adoption of one or both of those boys.  You'd think that with that possibility looming overhead and with all the unknowns that complicate my life right now, I should be a bit stressed and overwhelmed.  The truth is, though, I'm not.  I was, but now I just feel a total peace that God is driving this boat, He will take care of our needs, and wherever He decides to take us on this journey is okay with me.  He's provided too many miracles at a moment's notice for me to worry and fret over all the what-ifs about a tomorrow that's not even here yet.  I work with two incredibly driven teammates (who are awesome, by the way) who are constantly making to-do lists and planning for weeks and months down the road.  I, on the other hand, am the very relaxed one who just makes sure that I'm ready to teach the following day and have a plan for the next day after that.  I provide the structure and routine that my kids need, and then we take each day or week as it comes.  I can't say I've always been this way--I think a lot of it comes from what I've learned about walking with God over the last few years.  My walk with Him affects every area of my life and my being.

This week was a bit complicated for Julian, as well, but the future seems to be looking up.  The lady he's been living with has officially moved to another area of the country where she can use her passion for music education more effectively.  We knew when he moved in with her that he only had six months until he'd have to find somewhere else, so to us, those were six months for him to transition out of the orphanage so he'd be more ready to be on his own.  She put the word out and talked to a lot of people about his need for a place to live by August, but no one responded.  When she told me that back in June, my only response to her was that I really felt like God had already chosen someone who wasn't even in the picture yet.  It was going to be someone that we didn't even know.  Just a few days later, we got invited to a cookout at a Baptist church and divinely "ran into" perhaps the most influential person from Julian's childhood.  The one I wrote about in my book, the lady who had planted seeds into his heart as a child that took root and never left him.  Though he's still got a long way to grow spiritually, those little seeds planted in him so long ago have kept him seeking water so that they could begin to grow.  When he and I came to the conclusion that we had no way of finding her, I prayed that God would bless her for her faithfulness to spread the Word to those children and that somehow she would know how God continued to work in their lives.  Not only did she meet us and become our instant prayer warrior through this second adoption attempt, but she also has provided Julian a new home to live in, has guided him to take some very positive steps toward his future, has gotten him to attend church and prayer meetings with her, but she's also become like a mentor to me and a huge source of encouragement.  She is a miracle.  I am blessed beyond measure to not only know her, but to now partner with her in guiding Julian in his spiritual journey.  Only God.  There are some times in life when you realize that you're living out something that only God could have orchestrated. There are not words to express the miracle of finding her.  I guess that's another reason why I'm not a big planner, anymore.  You just never know what surprise God has right around the corner.

This week, she sent me a message saying that she's studying a book at the Bible Institute that I really need to read.  It's called The Disciplines of a Godly Woman.  I am now on a search for it.  If anyone nearby has a copy that I can borrow, please let me know.  I would love to be able to study something alongside her and think it would be an amazing connection for us, plus the book looks amazing.  I went to Half-Price Books to look for it, but they didn't have it.  Today I'll check the Christian bookstore, and if that doesn't work, I'll see how cheap I can find it online (yes, I'm scraping for pennies at the moment...).  However, while I was at Half-Price Books last night, I found another book on the clearance rack that I know without a doubt was the book I was "sent" there to find.  It's a workbook called On Mission with God--Living God's Purpose for His Glory, by Avery Willis and Henry Blackaby.  If you don't know, I led a group of women through the study called Experiencing God in the spring, by Henry Blackaby, and this one "is a natural follow-up" to that study (as quoted on the back of the book).  I do believe this is a study that I need to lead in the future.  I'm so excited that I found it, (and that it was on the clearance rack)!

So, I'll end all this babbling now with a quote that I underlined on the first page of the study.

You usually ask God for a road map of your life, and He replies, "I am the Way.  I will personally lead you.  Follow Me and My commands, and you will get to the destination." On the way you discover that you may not get to the destination you first had in mind, but you will get to His destination for your life--a far better arrival point than you had planned.  That's what it means to be on mission with God.  You let Him be your Guide and direct you, because you believe He has a purpose for you.