Blessings in the New Year

Here we are in 2009. Have you all hung up your beautiful new calendars? I am afraid our house is in a time warp at the moment since I am the one who generally takes care of changing calendars.

Remember the whole Y2K thing? Seems like yesterday, yet almost ten years have passed. As the century turned, I was a mom busy with three little kids eight and under, shuttling them to school, juggling what it is to live a faithful life as wife, mommy and child of God. What is that supposed to look like? I thought that to live a life that bears the Fruit of the Spirit required work work work and I could not figure out how to achieve consistency in it. I found that sometimes I could recognize God's peace in someone else but I was not sure how I could find it in myself.

I still do not understand everything yet but I can testify that I am learning all the time. God is great. He is Perfect and Sovereign. He is Love. He is Mercy. He is All Powerful. He is Salvation. He is Peace. He is Hope. He Was and Is and Is To Be. He is Truth. Like the law of gravity, established by God Himself, dictates that when an ball is thrown into the air, it must come back down, certain spiritual laws have automatic, God-established results. It is such a principle that says He is the Vine and believers are the branches and if we remain in Him, we will automatically bear the Fruit. We are grafted in. A healthy branch on a tree just automatically bears fruit because of what it is already a part of, not because of its independent straining to produce something. Yielding yielding yielding. Resting in the process that is already taking place in His hands. Of course, as humans, this is a choice we have to make every second of every day. A choice to yield. Clay in the Potter's hand that does not keep asking what He is doing.

I have, in my mind, been a lump of confused complaining clay lately. Not constantly, but just trying to figure God out. I know we came to Ukraine completely at His leading. No doubt. I do not doubt what He is doing. I sometimes doubt His methods and timing. Pretty arrogant when you think about it. I am one person, living on a planet that is so small it can fit into Jupiter several times, and Jupiter can fit into the sun multiple times. Now figure in the fact that our planets are part of one galaxy in a vast universe containing countless galaxies. God Himself set it all in motion, and chose to give us tiny human specks the breath of life and the Way to an eternal life with Him. He does not owe us anything, yet offers us the Ultimate.

God does not owe me any explanations for the length of this adoption process or the bumps along the way. He may graciously reveal some later, but now He just wants me to RELAX and let Him finish what He has begun. I do have His promise, as does everyone, that what He has begun He will complete. And not miss the blessing in the middle of the questions. Every extra day Maxim and I wait to come home is another one watch God provide for us and work through us. How I conduct my day with Maxim, how I approach the wait outwardly, how I express Biblical principles to the best of my understanding through words and actions, are all being watched by more people than I would have thought. This is truly a place where there are indeed faithful believers, but they are surrounded by a nation who for the most part has no concept at all of a real God at all, let alone One Who desires to relate to and lead them personally.
No concept of that at all. I have not encountered that before. Its one thing to live in a society where the idea of a real God is at least still floating around if not embraced by all. It is very sobering to be in a place where so many have had the concept completely erased from their realm of thinking. At least the time I spend with others here can be used as potential seed in a few minds. Not to my credit. Only God's.

Igor will be going back to the passport office in Kherson on the 8th of January. They have told him it will likely be ready that day and should be to me by the morning of the 9th. May it be so. I believe it is truly likely since our friends the McGowans already received theirs and are now settling back at home in the States (Martita, hope you are all recovering well from the journey and His peace is with you in all the adjustments; congratulations on the completion of adding your new son). On Monday the 5th, I will make a second visit to the U.S. Embassy to turn in more papers I have ready. It means paying a driver multiple times but in the end it will be worth it because when the passport comes, I will only need to spend about an hour at the Embassy to turn in the passport and Maxim's medical report from the doctor he will see here in Kiev. If the passport does indeed arrive in my hands on Friday the 9th, I will not want to waste any time filling out forms I can be taking care of now. I am going to be in "get this done and get on a plane" mode. God knows and He is already walking ahead of us.

So tonight, as we are into another Sabbath in Ukraine, I can rest knowing I am still in the hands of the Father and He has EVERYTHING under control. I will put our chocolate-loving, wiggly, ever-observant, stubborn, humorous little boy to bed and then myself, and see what tomorrow holds. Blessing and delight for sure, because it is His day.

Hello to new and old friends who have stopped at the blog for the first time. Shelly, I hope we can do some serious catching up. Blessings on your long awaited house full. I am thrilled for you.