Face of God

When I was getting ready to travel to China in January, somebody commenting on one of my posts said "You're about to see the face of God". Silly me, I thought they meant this would happen the moment I met Abby, which it did. But that was just the start of it.

I have seen His face, upclose, pretty much every day since then.

In taking a scared little girl and teaching her to trust.

Teaching her that families are forever and love unconditionally.

In teaching a momma to love a child she did not bear.

A child she did not get to rock, and bathe, and love.....

A child she did not have the privilege of loving for the first (almost) nine years of her life.

I have seen His face in my biological children's eyes, as they love their new sister as though she had been here forever.

I have seen His face in my other family members, who have all accepted and loved Abby the same way - as though this was the most natural thing in the world, as though she was always here.

And that type of unconditional love, friends, comes only from God.

But that's only the start of it still.......

In adopting Abby, I became part of this giant network of adoptive families. And I have had the joy of seeing the face of God as I witness Him at work in their lives.

The stories are many, they are beautiful, and they are touching. And they all have His fingerprints all over them.

The story I want to share today is one particularly close to my heart, because it is happening in the life of a dear friend. Melissa and I have never met in person, but we connected with each other in 2009 when we were both waiting to hear if China had received our paperwork. I believe it was even before either one of us knew who our children were. We then had the privilege of supporting each other through the roller coaster of international adoption - what a ride that was!!! In November of 2009 I got to follow along via the amazing world of computers as Melissa and Ryan traveled to China to bring little Everest home. And then I got to keep following along over the next year and watched them mold into a family. Well, their story doesn't end there. To hear what awesome twist God just brought into their lives, visit their new blog . If you're able to get involved and help them complete this story, please do so, whether by donating or just backing them up in prayer.

And to my tech - savvy friends out there, if anyone knows how to make them a nice little button for their blog that would be AWESOME. I am clueless in such matters!!

In closing, let me assure you, I feel like I fall short every single day. Not one day comes to an end that I don't feel like a failure in one way or another. I am so glad that in spite of all my shortcomings and imperfections, He still extends His grace and allows me so close a glimpse at His face.