"Is He the One?"

This morning I was reading in Matthew 11 as I work my way through the Gospel of Matthew and came upon the interaction that Jesus had with John the Baptist's (JTB) disciples where they asked him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" I love how Jesus replies: "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." There are a lot of layers to this whole thing, but my point in sharing this is that we have been blown away by how the Lord has provided for us at every turn in this process, especially financially. Adoption is no small undertaking financially and we didn't start this process because we had an abundance of extra cash laying around. We started this because the burden we had for the orphans of Ethiopia was far greater than the financial restraints of our situation and we were confident that the Lord would provide for us if this burden was truly of Him. As we prepared to accept the referral and get the ball rolling on next steps, the Lord once again provided exactly what we needed to be able to take that next step with confidence in His calling. If you want to hear the full back story on that, it's pretty remarkable, so just ask me when you see me.

Nevertheless, I look forward to the day when my son says, "Is He the One?" referring to Jesus, and I'll be able to tell him his adoption story and say, "Son, here is what I have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the good news is preached to the poor, and orphans are given homes. He is the One. Follow Him." We found out last night that our son's name means, "My messenger." I pray now that his life will testify to these great truths and that the gospel message will go forth proudly from his lips.

The other layer of this story that's worth noting is the discouragement of JTB as he sat in prison. We have some really close friends, the Fournets (http://fournetfamily.blogspot.com/) who are "imprisoned" right now by a longer than expected wait to bring their kiddos home and I'm sure there are many who I don't know who are discouraged by the same thing. I've been so encouraged by Beau and Natalie's determination to reflect often on what they have "seen and heard" as followers of Christ even in the midst of this heartache. The truth that "He is the One" is the greatest comfort in times of trouble, the greatest purpose in life, and the greatest hope for the future.

Join us in praying for the Fournets and reflect often on what you have seen God do in your life and in the lives of others.