Our Precious Surprise from the Lord

Disclaimer: 

The story we're about to tell is bittersweet.

There is pain, heartache and brokenness.  

Yet, because of God's great mercy and abundant grace,

 there will be healing, restoration and continual evidence of His faithfulness.

We thank you, ahead of time, for praying for all of us in this journey.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4


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Isn't it a beautiful moment when God gently surprises us?

When, literally, life changes overnight?

I don't know how many of you remember, but way back in November 2005,
the Lord gave me a prophetic word:

"Linny, the best years of your life are ahead of you."

It was so right-on...since I had been whispering to the Lord for months that
I felt like my best years were behind me.  I
 had been secretly grieving growing old.
And in an instant, that powerful word from Him revived me.

It was so clearly Him, because, although He had heard my cries,
He was the only one who had heard my groanings,
"I feel like the best years of my life are behind me."

When He spoke the exact words I had been moaning for weeks in my
confiding time with Him, I knew that I knew that I knew that I knew
 it was a promise I could "take to the bank".

And after He spoke that prophetic word to me, immediately I responded,
"Well that must mean that there will be more treasures
because that's all I've ever wanted."

Since that prophetic word, we had added five kiddos.

Isaiah
Elizabeth
Elijah
Jubilee
and
Ruby

Now that Ruby is home and thriving,
I have been whispering a few new things to the Lord.
And soon, I will share some of that, but for now,
I will keep this rather vague, for several reasons.

Anyway, two days after returning from our 6,200+ mile road trip,
Dw and I went to grab some coffee and talk.
In a few days we would be leaving for Colorado for Autumn and Karl's wedding,
we just really needed to catch up.

So there we were snuggled up on one side of the booth at
the Paradise Bakery near our home,
when a text message buzzed in.

It was from Emma.

It contained 29 words alerting us to a need she had just heard of.
A painful situation to be sure.

A little one who had been brought home internationally a few months prior,
was needing to be "resettled" in another family.

I read the text aloud to Dw.

He turned to me and quietly responded,

"Maybe we could help."

My heart leapt.

Over the next few days, we inquired if we were needed in any way.

We even asked if we could do some respite while the family
spent some time regrouping.
{That was not an option.}

As it turns out there have been many God-appointments in this journey.
Privacy warrants we protect all involved.

But I can assure you of this:
We have been so thankful for the Lord's clear direction and quiet reassurance.

The day after returning from Autumn's wedding we met this little treasure.

I asked the Lord to show me the second I saw him in person.
As he walked through our front door, my eyes welled with tears.

I knew.

He was ours.

Tucked away by Almighty God for our family.

We are convinced {as is the adoptive family who brought him home}
that the Lord used them to bring him 'home' to the States,
because ultimately His plan for him was to be with our family.
{And of course, they will always love him very much.}

Just a week ago today I tweeted,

"Enormous situation ahead. 
Changes imminent. 
Prayers for wisdom, peace, and grace needed now."

{*thank you to all who pray when I tweet,
it makes such a difference to my heart to know so many
of you were praying*}

That tweet was sent when we were going to get our new son and the agency would officially
transfer him to our care.  So, believe it or not, he has already been home for a week.

Disruption in adoption is a painful thing for all.
Some of you have been involved on one end or the other in a disruption.
There is no judgment here.
Promise.
God promises to use all things to work together for good.
No.Matter.What.

Our new son is slowly adjusting to life in our family.

He is also grieving {which is a good thing}.
We need him to grieve.

The kids have welcomed him with open arms.
Every one of them is thrilled to have a new brother.  

We are so thankful that the
Lord brought the need to Emma's attention, which prompted a series of
 events that led to him coming home forever.

For those who knew it was a #12...you were right!
although who would have guessed that he would already be home for a week?

A beautiful surprise from the Lord!!!

We are updating our home study and before long all the legalities
will be completed.

Pictures and all other information will be coming soon.

But for now, please pray for our little guy's heart as he adjusts to so many changes.
He is not really speaking English yet and we're really not sure how much he understands.


We are convinced that as much as he needed us, 
we, too, needed him.

I can't wait for his picture to be up on the header for the whole world to see.
Rejoice with us - the Saunders Family has another son
and we couldn't be more over-joyed!

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans, even daily, by sending people across our path with their...requests.

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer