One Step at a Time

The other day I was watching Adoption Stories. Colton came in, mentioned Keely and Maggie, and asked me who gave them their names. I said that we had chosen them. He said, "Well, what are their real names?" I told him I didn't know. As he left the room, he said, "Who knows? Maybe they're twins." I sat looking after him a moment and thought, "I hadn't really thought of that. Could be."

You know, I realize that the current economic situation in our country has affected probably everyone. Sometimes I think we really picked a bad time to try to raise or even save the money to do this, but I figure there is a reason that this is our time. After all, all of those kids around the world aren't going to just stop being orphans until there are more families adopting again.

On a deeper note, as much as I feel the need to adopt, I often find myself caught in a neverending list of questions that are supposed to pass as my prayer time. Why is fundraising being so difficult? Do you really think we can do this? Now or maybe later? Bulgaria or maybe you meant somewhere else? I felt confident with each decision when we made it, but when those decisions don't lead to a bunch of open doors, I start second guessing myself. Maybe I missed something. Maybe I misunderstood the details. Maybe we've got some part of this heading down the wrong path. I start asking God for answers. "Just tell me...clearly...without question what you want me to do." I think the problem is that I'm wanting the big picture, and God wants me to focus on the next step only and trust Him for the rest.

Let me illustrate this from my own day (any day) with Colton. We sit down to do a math lesson. (It could be any subject.) I open the book to today's worksheet. Colton starts flipping the pages to see what is on the next page...10 pages later. "Colton, don't worry about what's next. Just focus on what's in front of you." We sit down to read science. He asks, "What are we going to after science?" "Um. Math I guess." "Are we going to Memaw's after lunch?" "Honey! Please just focus on science right now. Don't worry about what we are doing later."

I was thinking tonight that maybe I should listen to myself a little more closely. "Lord, do You want us to do this or that? If this, do You want it this way or that way. You know, it would be cool if we blah, blah, blah." "Libby, honey, quit worrying about what to do next. Just take care of the task I have placed in front of you. You can't get to the next step without this task anyway. Trust me."

On to new "stuff"...I am looking into taking a course in medical transcription. I've done some research into it, and I've talked with a few people in the medical field. So far, everything sounds promising. I'm not looking for "get rich working from home," but I would love to get beyond thinking about gas and food prices. Besides, as I've probably mentioned before, we fall short of qualifying to adopt 2 children since I stopped baby-sitting. The added income would not only qualify us for both girls, but it would help us save for expenses as well. If you know someone who is a transcriptionist or uses a transcriptionist, ask them to send me all the info they know.

Current efforts to raise money...

• Throw a party
• Bracelets ($8)
• Pizza cards ($5 now)
• Bookkeeping job for Libby
• Transcription of any kind for Libby