Miracle #1

Yesterday was a day of miracles. Some big, some small. But all a reminder of God's presence and power.

We were in Anchorage the entire day yesterday...we were supposed to leave at 7:30 a.m. for Anna's allergist appt. Well, I hadn't yet heeded my note to self regarding my alarm clock...so it was going to be a stretch to get all four of us out the door in the dark and in the snow on time!

I was more than a little frustrated that I was going to be away from my computer, because my friend Jen was expecting big news, and I didn't want to miss it! If you don't follow Jen and Jim, I encourage you to check out their blog! Jen and I went to high school together...not the closest of friends, but we did share our closest friend, Darlene. My perspective then was that Jen and I were just complete opposites, and I sadly did not take the time to really get to know her. The last time I saw or talked to her was at Darlene's wedding, which we were both in. Ten and a half years ago.

I started following her blog two years or so ago, when they were in the process of adopting their daughter from Kazakhstan...I was interested partly b/c I knew her from high school (and we're actually second cousins or something-go figure), and partly b/c my mom had recently gone on a missions trip to Kaz. And bit by bit Jen and I began to communicate-at first just through comments on each other's blogs. But when Mark and I began to think more about adoption, then we began emailing each other more frequently-Jen was tireless about answering my questions! She has shaped so much of our perspective on adoption, and is one of those powerful behind-the-scenes forces in our whole adoption process!

Well, then our connection grew even stronger as we both were in the process to adopt from Ethiopia! We have shared each others' ups and downs over the past year. My perspective now? Jen is one of my dearest friends, and there's not a week that goes by that I don't wish that we lived close enough to get the kids together to play or to go out for a cup of coffee and talk adoption stuff!

Well, yesterday was a big day for them. Very big. Their petition to adopt the baby boy with whom they'd been matched (the most gorgeous little boy, I might add) was to be heard in court. Lately, adoptive families have only had a 60% pass rate...usually due to missing paperwork. If for some reason a family does not pass, their case is heard again in about 3 weeks. Can you imagine having picture after picture of your baby, knowing he's sitting in the orphanage waiting for you, and then having to wait almost an extra month to hold him in your arms just because some paperwork is missing? The very thought of it was enough to keep many of us on our knees for them yesterday! Crying out to God for mercy, knowing it was in his hands.

They expected to hear back, yeah or nay, around 10:30 am Eastern. I had high hopes that they would have heard by the time I needed to leave at 7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. Eastern. I quickly checked their blog in the rush to get ready. No new post. I left a quick comment, then finished getting the kids ready. By 7:55 we were loading up the van...I checked one more time, with no new update to reward my anxious heart!

A few minutes after 8 a.m., I had to run back into the house to grab just one more thing...and I heard a voice I didn't recognize leaving a message. For some reason, I thought perhaps it was the allergist's office calling about our appt. So I quickly picked up the phone mid-message...when I heard both "Jen" and "court" in the next sentence, my mind started racing to try and think if I had seen a "Jen" who comments on their blog, to try and figure out which friend she had given a list of numbers to in order to share their news! :)

I didn't recognize her voice...it had been ten and a half years since we had last spoken! All of this flashed through my mind in the five seconds it took me to grasp that is was Jen herself, and she was calling to share the news that they had passed court!!! I just have to laugh at it all now...but oh, the rejoicing!!! I laughed and cried my whole way to Anchorage, trying to explain to the kids how great this all was. And had my alarm clock gone off, we would have been out the door at 7:30...and I would have not gotten the news for another 12 hours.

Yes, Jen and Jim and Gigi had a miracle yesterday. But so did I. The miracle of friendship. I don't think I will ever be able to adequately explain what it meant to me to receive that phone call, but it has touched me and changed me- Glory be to God!