Day 27 - He's Officially Ours!

The first day we met

The day he officially became ours!  8/3/11

 Already negotiating deals like Daddy

 Walking all by himself!

 His face after he slid down the slide for the first time.

 Sticker Mania!

 Sweet Boy.

 Model in the making....

 I love walking!!

 Tongue discovery day.

 Family Portrait

 The first time he fell asleep in my lap

Family picnic?

Wooha!  (Water!)

I am amazed, humbled, and completely in awe of God's sovereignty over processes, leaders, governments, and the entire world.  This afternoon, we were told that Zane Addisu is officially our son!  Our letter came this morning, and the paperwork was given to the judge for her approval.

This event is inexplicable without considering the Lord's power and grace over all earthly things.  Yesterday MOWCYA was on July 4th letters, and this morning, our letter from a July 13th court date was written.  This is impossible without God answering the prayers of hundreds of you who have been praying for us.  So many of you emailed us with specific prayers you were praying for us.  One prayer that many of you have prayed is that God would put Zane's paperwork on the top of the stack at MOWCYA this morning.  We know that is exactly what he did.  We're amazed and humbled that God has given us favor with the people here and with Addisu's case.

My fear is that in my humanity over time I will begin to rationalize the way this event has worked out, and somehow think it was chance or Addisu just had very good paperwork that was easy to review, or that it was an accident.  Our hearts are so prone to wander from the Lord.  I want to make this blog a "memorial stone", so that I will remember this day, God's apparent work in our lives, and the way He blessed us.  One hymn comes to mind when I think of the events of today.  "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, 
 tune my heart to sing thy grace; 
 streams of mercy, never ceasing, 
 call for songs of loudest praise. 
 Teach me some melodious sonnet, 
 sung by flaming tongues above. 
 Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, 
 mount of thy redeeming love. 

        Here I raise mine Ebenezer; 
 hither by thy help I'm come; 
 and I hope, by thy good pleasure, 
 safely to arrive at home. 
 Jesus sought me when a stranger, 
 wandering from the fold of God; 
 he, to rescue me from danger, 
 interposed his precious blood. 

 O to grace how great a debtor 
 daily I'm constrained to be! 
 Let thy goodness, like a fetter, 
 bind my wandering heart to thee. 
 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
 prone to leave the God I love; 
 here's my heart, O take and seal it, 
 seal it for thy courts above. 

For so long, I had no idea what an Ebenezer was!  And why should I raise it for that matter?  A few years ago a friend from church was leading youth worship at camp.  She explained the Ebenezer so well, and it has stuck with me ever since.  Basically Ebenezer comes from a Hebrew word that means, "stone of help".  An Ebenezer is simply a monumental stone set up to signify the great help that God granted to the Israelites in 1 Samuel 7.  The prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the Israelites begged Samuel to pray for them in their battle.  Samuel offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for His protection. God listened to Samuel, causing the Philistines to lose the battle and retreat back to their own territory. After the Israelite victory, the Bible records: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (1 Samuel 7:12).  In the song, all sing to acknowledge God’s bountiful blessings and help in their lives.

So today, I raise my Ebenezer and say, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."