1) The you are crazy, but we wish you the best group
2) The you are crazy, period, just crazy, and you are making a mistake group
3) The you are crazy, and this may not be easy, but wow will this be amazing and we are here to help group.
I like the third group the best :). It's hard, though, not to second guess yourself when the number two group speaks up. Thankfully, that group is small, but they are there, and they make themselves known. I can say, though, that God has spoken much, much louder than that group. (I should also say that I do appreciate that second group, because when they speak up, it drives me in to a frenzy of book reading, chatting with other adoptive families, and prayer. At the end of the day, I come out even more confident of our adoption plans because of this group.) David and I know that we are walking the road God has called us to walk. When I read the post below, it reaffirmed how I am feeling.
As sure as David knew he'd defeat Goliath, I am sure that God is leading this journey.
(On a side note, Sarah, the author of this post, and her family are on a journey to adopt a beautiful little girl, Elisha, who is waiting for them. Check out their blog and read their story, it is an amazing one!)
WHAT'S YOUR GOLIATH?
We all know the story. Even those that aren't faithful can tell the basics of the story of David and Goliath. David was a small shepherd boy, Goliath was the big bad Philistine giant, Goliath came to attack, no Israelite would fight him, and then little David stood up to him with just a few stones and a slingshot, konked him square in the noggin', and took out the Giant once and for all.
But before David even made it onto the battlefield, he had other goliaths to contend with.
First there was his family. Filled with good intentions, or perhaps not, I don't know, they basically shot him down when he suggested himself as the person to take care of the issue at hand.
In fact, his brother said to him:
“Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
Who do you think you are?
You have no right to do this.
You aren't a warrior in my eyes; just a shepherd.
You have no idea what you are doing.
A goliath.
But still, David was willing to fight.
Then David was sent to King Saul, and told him, (more or less), "Hey, King, don't worry, even though no one else is willing to go and fight, I'll do it."
And the king's response?
“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
You can't do it.
You've go the odds stacked against you.
He's big. You are little.
This isn't your problem to deal with.
A goliath.
But still, David was willing to fight.
David was willing...
because he knew God was on his side. He knew, with the greatest of confidence, that this battle was not just between a small Israelite boy and a giant Philistine warrior. We always picture a little shepherd boy up against giant, but what we often fail to recognize is that God was there all along, standing next to David, guiding the slingshot for a direct hit. David was confident, and, although he may not have known what exactly the end result would look like, he knew that whatever God had in store was worth standing up to fight.
We may not face Goliath, but we face our own goliath problems all the time.
We get questioned, beaten down, told we are wrong, how dare we, who do we think we are, this isn't our battle, let it go, let someone else do it instead.
So many times, even those with good intentions end up as the goliaths in our lives.
When I heard this message, I realized just how closely it parallels with our adoption journey. Not just ours, in fact, but many families. Can I get an amen? :)
The decision to adopt isn't to be taken lightly.
But then again, if you have confidence that God is on your side, do you really have to worry about heading into battle?
Shortly before we filled out our commitment paperwork stating our intent to adopt "Taylah", we were faced with a situation that made me question whether or not this was the path we were truly supposed to take.
I asked God for guidance; I specifically asked that He speak boldly, clearly than ever before,
to let me know if this was a battle we were truly supposed to fight.
I opened my Bible, and the answer was blazing before me.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze: and you shall beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their wealth unto the Lord of the whole earth. -Micah 4:13
When asked, "Are you sure this is God's intended path for you?" I can without a doubt say,
As sure as David knew he'd defeat Goliath, I am sure that God is leading this journey.
Thank you, Sarah, for letting me share your words!!
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