A Time of Peace.....

At the risk of sounding crazy, I'll let you all in on an odd little fact about myself: I have a history with the time 11:11. Something about the sameness of the numbers has always been a sign of peace for me. It seems that whenever I am struggling with something or just need encouragement, I happen to glance at the clock at 11:11 and just know that everything is going to be OK; God will take care of me.

This has been happening for the past 16 years or so - ever since I surrendered my life to Christ. It has occurred frequently during our adoption process as well: at the beginning when we hadn't fully decided to adopt yet but felt that God was leading us there, after I heard the voice clearly say, "Adoption is no longer one, but two" and we decided to change our homestudy to include siblings, more recently as our case has progressed further, and many times in between. I would look at the clock at 11:11 and just know that it was a sign of peace from God. He also gave us an amazing gift for our 11th wedding anniversary, which was in 2011: a free 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera. And recently I was sitting in church thinking about all these 11's, when I decided to grab the hymnal and see what song #11 was. The very last line of the hymn reads, "Peace be unto you." So then I picked up a different songbook and looked up #11 in that one as well. Some of the verses read:

"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed.

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow.

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The verses of this song restate some of my very favorite verses of the Bible - verses that have been a huge help to us through our adoption journey:

 "But now thus saith the Lord that created thee...and he that formed thee...Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even everyone that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." -Isaiah 43:1-7

It shouldn't surprise me, then, with all the 11's in my life (and all of the meaning behind them), that we will be bringing our boys home in November of 2011 -

11/11!!

Our adoption journey really began two years ago in November, and now the boys will be coming home in November, which by the way, is also National Adoption Month. So from 11 to 11.......

What's more, we are leaving for Ethiopia on - 

11-11-11!!!

My God is so awesome like that. He loves to send me little love notes. I know we'll have some hard days ahead, but I will be able to look back at all these signs and know that God is in this with us. That He led us here for a reason. That He will continue to bring me all the peace and reassurance I need if I keep looking to Him and trusting in His goodness.

Lastly, I wanted to share this verse that my brother-in-law emailed to me: Hosea 11:11 “They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.”

Have a great day, everyone!