Monday, April 9, 2007

Lessons From Esther

The leader of one of the women's bible studies at our church needs a little well-deserved break, so I'm going to be leading her study every other week throughout the summer. We are going to be studying the book of Esther, so I have been listening to some of Jon Courson's teachings on Esther to get ready. I plug speakers into my laptop and listen while I'm cleaning the kitchen.

When she told me that she wanted to do Esther, I was a little nervous because Esther is an awesome story, but I was worried that it might be a hard one to teach on. God is never mentioned by name in this book, their is no mention of prayer or heaven. I started to wonder, "What are we going to talk about for nine weeks?"

It has been really encouraging listening to these teachings on-line. One of the biggest thing that has stood out to me is the reoccurring theme of God working behind the scenes for His people. Although it appears that God is absent from this book, He really isn't. It's amazing how, as Courson puts it, "God is in the shadows, controlling the situation, and governing the circumstances."

It really encouraged me to think of God working on our behalf in our adoption process. Sometimes He feels absent, or it may feel like time is standing still and nothing is happening. But that's just because I can't see what's happening. Just because I can't see what He is doing, doesn't mean that God isn't working. He's very involved, in the shadows, controlling the situation and governing the circumstances. That's very cool to think about.

Process update: We are still waiting for our pre-approval from immigration (i-171-H form) and we set a deadline for mid-April to receive Pat's birth certificates from New Jersey, and then we are going to try a different approach. Then we can send in our dossier and be what is called "referral ready." So in other words, nothing much has changed. : ) That's OK, though. I'm feeling really peaceful about it all. But I must admit, I'm as excited as ever to see a picture and know the identity and age of our son. Thanks to all of you who are praying for us and have shown such an interest in our adoption. It is a blessing.

1 comment:

Dono & Laurie said...

I just know that God is orchestrating the exact timing of when your approval comes in and when your son comes to AOH. We saw this personally with Kojo. Your son is out there, and was destined to be your since before time...God is just putting it all together in His timing. He knows what is best for your son and how it has to happen. Soon you will see that beautiful face!
-Laurie