Monday, December 13, 2021
Witness: Donna Baker
Scripture: Micah 7:7
Weekly Theme: Joy
Advent Season provides an opportunity to prepare and wait, hopefully with patience, for what the Lord has formulated for each of us. Those two words – “Wait” and “Patience” – even during this season affords us an opportunity to learn and trust in God’s plan for us.
“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”
In the Proverbs 31 Woman devotional this morning, the author talks about how the plan that she and her husband believed was the Lord’s plan, totally fell apart. This was the scripture passage: “Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.’” John 13:7 (NLT)
And we were challenged to think of a time when we finally realized that God was working behind the scenes. Wow! There are so many in my life! Of course, my first thought was the building of our family. Our plan in 1972 was to have two children and then adopt two children from Vietnam, as there were so many orphans who were half American due to the military serving there. But, in 1976, after five miscarriages and significant uterine surgery, we realized that adoption would come first, not second. And Matthew became our baby five months after we applied! That’s shorter than a pregnancy, and reimbursement was provided by the Conference and housing through a pastor friend whose son had been an exchange student in Bogota. It was absolutely amazing! We thought that this adoption process would be SO complicated, but it was not at all. Emotionally, perhaps, but certainly not logistically and financially. Wow! Lord, you were at work behind the scenes in ways we would never have imagined. And then, when we were ready for Baby #2, it just so happened that one of our dairy farmer parishioners in this teeny, tiny town had a business connection with farmers in Bogota. And he knew the director of La Casa de la Madre y El Niño, the orphanage where we had applied again. Because of that connection, our application was ‘prioritized,’ and Elizabeth became ours in 4 months!
Lord, you work in amazing ways, and we will always be grateful! Sometimes ‘our plan’ is NOT yours. Lord, you work ‘behind the scenes’ in incredible ways!! Thank you for providing an amazingly wonderful family for us! Although we struggled with a total of 6 miscarriages and so many surgeries and diagnostics, we would not be the parents of our precious Matthew and Elizabeth without that trauma. And so, we have absolutely no regrets. No pain. No stressful memories. All were replaced with JOY!!! And I learned that patience brings such comfort and peace. I agree to WAIT, Lord, when called to do so.
Discussion/Reflection Questions:
- When has your impatient waiting resulted in an amazing outcome, or even a miracle?
- Rewind your life in your thoughts and realize that a specific circumstance in your life has resulted in much joy.
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