The Bearden Family (China)

"It was happening again--God's tug on our hearts to adopt another child. But why was I so hesitant this time to move forward with the paperwork? I worried about the timing and wondered if I had the strength to go through the process again.

This morning, I went to the kitchen sink to rinse off our breakfast dishes, but no water came out of the faucet. That's odd, I thought. The bathroom sinks were working fine, so what was going on? I sighed at the inconvenience and carried the dish soap, sponge and dishes back and forth to our son's bathroom.

In the middle of washing his plastic juice cup in the bathroom sink, that's when it hit me.   That feeling of familiarity. I'd done this before--in our hotel bathroom in China!

The memories from three years ago came flooding back. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror and laughed out loud. What am I so afraid of? God's got this! It's all His strength, not mine.

As I washed today's dishes with renewed energy, I thought of examples of God's provision while we were in China. He provided the hotpot in our hotel room, so I could heat the water to wash our new little son's bottles and utensils in the tiny bathroom sink. He provided internet service, so we could receive encouraging emails from our friends back home that were praying for us. He provided wonderful America World guides to lead us through the adoption in a foreign country and offer advice for first-time parents like ourselves.

I remembered how close we felt to God during the entire adoption and how He provided in every way, at every step in the journey."

And I smiled when I realized that I wanted to do it again, but only in His strength and timing.  God's timing is perfect, and we can rest in His promise that He will be with us always. (Matthew 28:20)

What about you? You might not have a broken sink, but are you in the same place of wondering if you're ready? My prayer for you is to move forward with me, and trust that God will provide all we need.

There is a child waiting on the other side of our obedience."

- Becky Bearden