Let me start by saying that I realize that I have all sorts of people who read this blog, through all different lifestyles and all different beliefs. To some of you, this post may really touch your hearts...and to others, this will be crazy. However, I have a story to tell so that you, my readers, know that God still does miracles today.
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When I posted this video the last time I blogged, there was a tiny secret included in that video. What was it? That our adoption was paid for 100%! But first let me back up.
In July of 2009 when we started the adoption journey, we had literally next to no extra money. Yet we were feeling this strong pull toward adoption. Every time we would talk and pray about the possibility of adopting and the fact that we had no money to do so, we felt as if God was telling us to take a leap of faith and move forward with the adoption. After much prayer and lots of discussing, we did just that. In some ways, it was the scariest thing we have ever done, in other ways, we felt more peace than ever before.
We sent out support letters to our family and friends and also started applying for as many adoption grants that we could. Money trickled in slowly over the two year time frame and by the two year mark of waiting, that covered about half of our total adoption fees.
This is the point in which I panicked. We still had half of the adoption costs to cover and basically no way to do so. However, I was reminded that when we first started this process we felt God tell us that He would provide for every last penny, all we had to do was trust. I told God time and time again that if he wanted us to adopt, then He had to provide the finances to do so. If He did, I would make sure the world knew that our adoption was paid for all because of Him.
As we got closer and closer to the two year point in waiting to adopt, someone approached us and told us that if a situation arose to adopt, to not say no based off of not having all the finances. Instead, they encouraged us that money can come from God at anytime and that may even be after we have adopted. I remember being a little awestruck at the comment for this had never occured to me before then. But at the same time, I figured we would never have to take a leap of faith that big in trusting God. I figured He would provide somehow, someway, miraculously before we got a call.
So on that June day in 2010 when we got the call that "J" had picked us, I was a bit shocked, but reminded of that conversation and again reminded to trust. We again brought it before God and told Him that we only had half the money and that if He didn't want us to have this baby girl, He would have to close the door on it.
With a peace that could only come from God, we said yes to adopting and ended up getting a loan to cover the other half of the adoption. Again, we had no idea where the rest of the money would come from to adopt, but God kept assuring us that He could do this at any point. The money didn't have to be in our timing, but His.
For six months after we adopted Xiomara we waited on Him to give us word on providing us with the other half of the adoption costs. In the meantime, the loan was being paid for solely out of our adoption money that we still had in an adoption account. Then in January, I talked to a friend who told me that the adoption tax credit was a refund this year and not just a credit. If true, this would pay the other half of our adoption fees, thus making our adoption debt free. Up until this point, we had only heard that it was a credit (which really would not benefit us at all). We started praying and I remember getting the shivers because God whispered on my heart, "I said I was going to do it, didn't I?".
Because we finalized at the very end of December, we did not have Xiomara's social security number in time to file taxes. Thus we filed an extension. In the meantime, I hear from online adoptive friends who are having major problems getting their tax refund. They are getting questioned for months on end, some end up even getting their cases closed without getting the refund. Many are still, on this day in August, without their funds.
Fear hits me. But then comes peace as Chris tells me that "God said He would pay for it all and He will." Thus we file our taxes in June knowing that most likely we have a long wait ahead of us.
On August 1st, I go check the mail box and am astounded to see our tax return checks in there. With shaky hands and a prayer on my lips I open it and find the full amount of refund. We did not get reviewed, we did not have to wait months on end.
Instead God did a miracle and paid for our adoption 100%. I mean it! Every last penny was paid for!!!
So today I wanted to share with you and you can feel free to share with others, (because after all I said I wanted the world to know) that God still does perform miracles. It truly is a miracle because there was no way without His help that this adoption could have been 100% debt free!
It really was such a BIG miracle in such a little girl! Thank you God!!
