So Much More Than a Garage Sale

Reflecting back on the garage sale, though we raised $1,500 towards bringing baby home, it is not the money that stands out in my mind. This weekend was so much more than a garage sale. What stands out in my mind as the most significant, are the conversations and connections that occurred, purposed by God.

Some of the most significant being:

1. The young girl who came with her mother and brother. She saw our adoption signage, and opened her own wallet and donated some of her very own money. That was followed up with a conversation with her mother, that touched my heart. HEART-WARMING.

2. The 2 women that were out on a garage sale hunt together. As we began talking, one woman is an adoptive mother herself. We had a lengthy and wonderful conversation. Shortly following, the other woman's husband arrived. When my in-laws saw these people, a light bulb went on - lo and behold - they are related to the family!!! Randomly arriving at the garage sale, and the family connection was made. SMALL WORLD.

3. The prayer warrior woman from a church nearby. She informed me that she is a prayer warrior from a nearby church (that we have attended and really like). A group of people come before the throne together every Tuesday evening in prayer. She asked me if she could add our family and our baby to their list of prayer topics. YES!!!! YES!!! YES!!! God is so so good in how He covers His people. HUMBLED.

4. The overall support exhibited by garage sale goers. The encouragement and support offered through the words of people we did not even know, was touching. AMAZING.

5. The heart of the kids in our lives. Our kids, my niece, and our neighbor kids have been unbelievably excited to be a part of this process. They are coming up with ways to help, participate, and be involved. They bring pure joy to the process! SMILES.

FINALLY - the story that floors me the most: It was Friday morning when an African appearing family came to browse our garage sale - it was the African-style headdress that gave it away. Through some conversation, it became known that they are from Ethiopia...and they live only several blocks away from us. In addition, they attend an Ethiopian church. And - that Ethiopian church has a ministry for adoptive families, called Ethiopians for Ethiopians. They provide classes on Ethiopian culture, food, teach us some Aramaic, and engage us in the Ethiopian community. We would meet families from the Ethiopian community here in MN - providing a connection to Ethiopian people and culture for us and baby as he/she grows. As he explained all of this to us, he made comments such as, "We will become like family", "we will eat together, and Ethiopian food is the best food in all the world", "you will become friends with other Ethiopian families so your child will know people from their culture". The warm invitation to engage into their community with joy and acceptance brought tears to my eyes and pure joy to my soul. And to add a little icing on the cake - the son of the pastor in charge, goes to Northwestern College! We can hardly wait to engage in the MN Ethiopian community! PROFOUND.

I do not believe these things happened by chance. God is at work, preparing, ordaining, and leading the way. There is such peace in seeing God at work, guiding each step of the way - leading us toward our baby that He has chosen perfectly for our family. GRATEFUL.