Faith, Hope & Love

 

    A year ago today my husband and I went to the courthouse expecting to leave with a date on the calendar for adoption of our sweet, third bonus blessing.  Instead, we left with a finalized adoption and hearts full of joy and weeping.  It was a Valentine's day we will never forget.  

    The journey had been a rough one.  This sweet boy was placed in our home at birth (January 2012), the third baby since July of 2008  and sibling to the other two blessings.  It was indeed love at first sight.  If you have followed our story you know that it has been a series of ups and downs as we have navigated the world of foster care. One of the deepest downs, was in March of 2015, when this sweet boy and his younger brother, who joined our family in May of 2013, were returned to their birth mother.  We spent the next 866 days trying to make sense of our broken world and in daily prayer for their safety and return.

    In July of 2017, God answered our prayers and both boys were returned to our home.  The next three years were filled with court dates, counseling appointments, and healing as we began putting the pieces of these sweet boys, our broken hearts, and our family back together.  So February 14, 2020 was a day of immense celebration as we our faith in God was proven, our hope in restoration was realized, and our love of this sweet baby was secured.  What a day! 

    This past year I was introduced to a song entitled, "Better Together" by Luke Combs.  It was written as a beautiful love song about how this couple is well, better together!  But, after listening to it a few times, it struck me that with a few tweaks (you know how I love to change song lyrics to fit my needs) this song would be a perfect adoption song.  I thought about writing Mr. Combs and asking him if he would rewrite the second verse for all of us adoptive parents and rerecord a version for us, but when I mentioned that to my girls they rolled their eyes at me.  So I guess I will have to settle for posting his lyrics with my revisions below.  Also, I don't usually post about drinking beer, since we don't but the lyrics are about things that go together and "good ole boys and beer" does fit! 

My edits are in red and my favorite line, "But I wouldn't have it any other way and if I'm being honest, your first and our last name" is underlined! So to all you adoptive mamas (and papas) out there, crank up the music (you can click the link above) and sing your heart out.  To everyone else, feel free to join in!

A 40 HP Johnson on a flat bottom metal boat
Coke cans and BB guns, barbed wire and old fence posts
8-point bucks in autumn and freshly cut cornfields
One arm out the window and one hand on the wheel

 

Some things just go better together and probably always will
Like a cup of coffee and a sunrise, Sunday drives and time to kill
What's the point of this ole' guitar if it ain't got no strings?
Or pourin' your heart into a song that you ain't gonna sing?
It's a match made up in heaven, like good ole' boys and beer
And me, as long as you're right here

 

Your hand in our hand  when we go out downtown
Your fingerprints on every single thing that we got in this house
The way you say, "I love you, too" is like rain on an old tin roof
And your hand fits right into mine like a needle in a groove

 

Some things just go better together and probably always will
Like a cup of coffee and a sunrise, Sunday drives and time to kill
What's the point of this ole' guitar if it ain't got no strings?
Or pourin' your heart into a song that you ain't gonna sing?
It's a match made up in heaven, like good ole' boys and beer
And me, as long as you're right here

 

Sometimes we're oil and water

But I wouldn't have it any other way
And if I'm being honest, your first and our last name

 

Would just sound better together and probably always will
Like a cup of coffee and a sunrise, Sunday drives and time to kill
What's the point of this ole' guitar if it ain't got no strings?
Or pourin' your heart into a song that you ain't gonna sing?
It's a match made up in heaven, like good ole' boys and beer
And me, as long as you're right here
And me, as long as you're right here

 

Still singing a year later!  Comments or questions?  You know what to do!

                                                                                                            ~Marla

Help! I Wrecked My Life

 We did it!  We made it to 2021.  I have heard so many comments and shared so many memes like the one above, about how awful 2020 was: a worldwide plague, horrible fires, hurricanes, rioting, civil and political unrest, the list goes on and on.  It was a tough year, and like many others, I was happy to bid it farewell.   

To be fair though, I have always been someone who looks forward to a new year.  There is just something about tossing out old calendars and filling in new ones that fills me with hopes and dreams for all that is to come.  Never has that been more true than this year. 

A new year is often kicked off with resolutions and goal setting that overflow with good intentions, but you know what they say about good intentions, right?  The truth is that many of us set these goals, or resolutions.  We write them down along with action steps, ways we are going to accomplish whatever goals we have set. But long before the year's end, these resolutions have fallen to the way side, unaccomplished.  

Just the other night my husband and I were introduced to a new show on HGTV called, "Help! I Wrecked My House."  It is a home makeover show where the host comes in and fixes what the homeowners have tried to remodel but got in over their heads. Much like well intentioned resolutions, they have set goals for improvement, but those goals have faded into piles of overwhelmed and unaccomplished messes.

Kind of like our lives sometimes.  Just because we have flipped the calendar to 2021, there is no guarantee of better things to come. We have to put in the effort to make those changes.  Much like remolding a house, we have to be willing to tear down the "walls" that are blocking the natural light, renovate the areas that are worn down, and most importantly, be sure our foundation and structure is sound. But, like the homeowners in the show, sometimes we find ourselves in over our heads.  We are not the original architects of this "house" and our knowledge is limited when it comes to all of the changes needed. Like the homeowners in the show, maybe you have found yourself wanting to cry out, Help! I've Wrecked My Life! 

If you've ever been a part of a remodel or watched any of the makeover shows, then you know that the first step is to make sure the foundation is firm. This is true for our lives as well.   Psalm 127 says, "Unless the Lord builds a house, the builder builds in vain."  The next step in moving forward is to have a design plan.  This is my favorite part of those shows, seeing all the possible ways to change the lay out, problem solving the trouble areas, and dreaming and planning for those improvements.  It's just like filling in a new calendar!  

Inevitably, a plan is made and the work begins only to discover some major challenge, Insert ominous music here) some hidden thing that the design team didn't know was there.  It makes me think of a verse from Proverbs, "In his heart a man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)  Oftentimes, when we set out to make changes in our lives, we forget to factor in what God has planned for us.  We began building on a firm foundation, but somewhere along the way we forget to seek His face, and then when things don't go the way we planned, we are discouraged and feel like giving up.  

You know what I love though?  I love that at any point in this remodel project, we can call out to the original architect, "Help, I Wrecked My Life," and no matter how bad the situation is God will meet us right where we are and begin the patient and loving work of restoration.  

As we begin the new project of 2021, with all our hopes and dreams, with all the remodeling and restoring visions we have in mind, let us not forget the truth of Hebrews 12 verse 2, "He is the author and perfecter of our faith."  

Can't wait to see all that God has in store for each of you as we seek His face for this coming year!  

~Marla