Encouraging words from the Lord

Isaiah 43:5-7 "Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you up from the west. I will say to the north (i.e. birthmom, Kazakstahn, China, Korea) 'GIVE THEM UP' and to the south (Satan) 'DO NOT HOLD THEM BACK.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--everyone who is called by my name, whom I created FOR MY GLORY, whom I formed and made."

Isaiah 61:1-3 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me...He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...to give them beauty for ashes...that He might be glorified."

"In adoption the fearful become beloved, the scorned become adored, the nameless become cherished, the lonely become the laughing, and death becomes life abundant."
-Kerry Hasenbalg

There are children all over the world that are being gathered up and brought into the fold of the family of Christ through means of adoption. Our baby Micah is one of them. It is nice to be reminded that he will bring him/her to us. His plans will succeed. The word "ashes" in the bible represents great pain, sorrow, and even death. God takes dust, dirt, and debris from two broken lives or families and glorifies himself by placing the fatherless in a home. Can't you just see him stooping down from heaven and picking up dust and garbage left behind from infertility, then the dirt and debris left behind from an unplanned pregnancy. At this point it is all still just a handful of ashes. But God is working! And when he is done running his fingers through the mess, his glory shines through as one little child who is now called beloved, a child who is now grafted into the visible church.