Steadfast

Hello Friends and Family,

Lauren and I are excited to report that we have been approved for adoptive placement with Bethany Christian Service! I know it can be hard to keep track of our progress in this whole thing, so what this means is that the agency has checked us out thoroughly and have deemed us ready to be adoptive parents. You can see on our timeline how many steps we’ve taken to get here.

On the financial side of things, we have continued to receive support from friends, family members and a few strangers. Even this week, we opened a letter to find a heartfelt letter of encouragement and a very generous check inside. In one word, I am humbled. Others have given their time and talents to bring us closer to bringing our baby home. We thank God for you. This week, we are diving into some adoption grant applications. Check out our giving site to track our fundraising efforts.

God encouraged us this week from his Word in James 1:2-8. It’s a familiar passage in which James, the pastor, challenges his people to be steadfast in trials. Steadfastness is the ability to continue under or to stand up in the midst of difficult circumstances. Throughout Scripture, it often is used in the context of faith. God’s people are challenged to stand up (and not fall or quit or shut down or doubt) in trials.

Faith is the context here and I love the word picture James gives. He contrasts steadfastness with the one who doubts God’s ability to deliver: “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Do you see it? The one who doubts is like a wave of the seas; he is pushed back and forth by his circumstances. The wind blows and off he goes. His attitude towards God is up and down. His trust in God is as flippant as the weather.

Now, contrast that with steadfastness. Steadfastness brings to mind a firmly grounded dock that will not move, no matter what the weather looks like. Steadfastness is like an anchor or a mountain that doesn’t budge. Lauren and I found ourselves asking, how do we get faith like that, because we’re pretty back and forth most the time. The answer is here in the passage: “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

That is it. Like all good things, being steadfast in faith takes time and effort. It’ll probably take forever. We found ourselves talking about the little steps God has required us to take in the last year and how far we feel like we’ve come when we look back at it all. A test here and there, and God begins to make us tough so we can stand.

Wrapping it up, it is really easy to view adoption as the end-all-be-all here, as the place of arrival. But it’s really not. It is a large part of what we’re up to but it is only a season we’re in. It’s a season that God is using to shape us. The same is true for everyone who is God’s. Whatever season you’re in, it’s meant to build toughness into you and make your faith immovable.

Thanks for reading. We’re grateful for you!