Stepping Away From the Shore

Matthew 14:25 - "Between three and six in the morning, Jesus came walking to them on the water."

Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see. John Shedd said, "A ship at harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." Faith is willing to take risks, embrace the unseen, and step away from the safety of the shore.

Faith believes that God is willing. The disciples had personally witnessed God's willingness to save His children, yet in Matthew 14, we see them in a boat, caught in a storm, afraid and still questioning God's willingness to save them. Did they cry out in fear? Yes. Did He come to save them? Yes!

Jesus came to His disciples, walking on the water, between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning, the darkest time of the night. I imagine the complaints were flying: "Why would Jesus send us out here knowing that the waves were so high? Where is He? Why is He waiting so long to rescue us? He could just speak and calm the waves like He did before. We worked for him all day long, and this is our reward? I don't understand!" Sound familiar? It does to me!

The truth is that God is willing and waiting to pour out His favor and blessings on a life of faith. Hebrews tells us that faith always honors God, and God always honors faith. (Hebrews 11:6)

I think part of the problem is that we don't know how to define "blessing." A blessing is not always pleasant, easy, painless, comfortable, or expected. A blessing often comes wrapped in the mystery of darkness. But I am learning this truth - anything that makes us cry out to God can be counted as a blessing. Why? Because when we are desperate and in pain, when we have no answers and the darkness is closing in, we cry out to God, just as His disciples did - and He comes! Not because we have earned His presence or His mercy, but because we cried out with a tiny seed of faith, as His children, knowing He is not only able, but eager to come. Step away from the shore. He will meet you here.

Russ and I are stepping away from the shore in FAITH as we anxiously welcome a new journey. A journey we never could have planned for ourselves, but one that is beyond anything we ever could have asked or imagined! (Eph. 3:20) We cannot wait to see how God will blow our imaginations next!

We are filled with joy as our hearts excitedly wait to grow our family through the miracle of adoption! Many of you have journeyed with us throughout our struggles and successes of the past six years, and we are beyond thrilled to share this excitement with you! We consider you such a special part of our lives...even those we have yet to meet. I am constantly overwhelmed with gratitude when I am stopped in random places or sent a sweet email just for you to say that you have prayed for us. Wow! Thank you.

There is so much I want to say about our journey, and over time I'm sure I will get it all out. For now, I just want to ask you once more for your prayers. We are asking for specific prayers: prayer for our patience as we "hurry up and wait" as is the process with adoption, prayer that God places His chosen baby for us in our arms soon, and prayer for the birthmother of our baby as she struggles or will struggle through such a difficult journey. Your prayers are so precious to us, and we are grateful that we have so many prayer warriors at home and in the blogging world. It is so humbling, and we knew from the beginning that you all would be an instrumental part in bringing home our baby. As we sat through our adoption orientation this past weekend and listened to the devotional above, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for all God has done and continues to do through our struggles. Who says our blessings can't come through pain? Many of you, sweet friends, have come as a result of our struggle. And I am so thankful for each one of you and how you have supported us as we prayed about this decision the past couple of years. You are one of the MANY blessings He has brought through "raindrops."

Most of you are very aware of the lengthy process that comes with adoption. You are also probably aware of the cost of adoption. We will continue to raise money throughout our wait to help bring home Baby Johnson, and you can keep up with that here. For now, please consider purchasing one of our t-shirts, and say a quick prayer for our little one each time you put it on or toss it in the washing machine. I can't wait to let him/her know how many people prayed for them as we waited! If you are interested, keep checking back. I'll post a proof very soon! Shirts should arrive next weekend.

Thank you, again, for joining us on this journey! We know that if we keep our eyes on Him as we step away from the shore, He will see us through!