Cast of Characters

I want to tell you all another God story, but I feel it necessary to introduce the cast of characters in our story first...

You all know me, already. I'm just a small piece of this story and I almost missed the awesomeness of God in the moment and the orchestration involved (on His part) in bringing us to the moment. I know, you're not surprised, I'm a little slow, sometimes, but it did come to me, eventually.

First up, my friend, Susie. How did I meet Susie? (I know, you're thinking who cares? It's relevant, so hang with me.) I had a lady named Gail message me on facebook and share a story with me about another adopting family. Gail knew that we would be good friends and I'm thankful that she didn't hesitate and made the introductions. Gail started a facebook group with Susie, another Mom, Nydia, myself and her and we have become great friends. We start our days together with a morning chat session and I am blessed by their friendship. This has been our routine, since late summer.

Susie had adopted before, but she lives about 4 hours away in NC, so we've never met face to face. Susie began to follow our adoption story, which led to her checking out the waiting children on Reece's Rainbow. She stumbled upon this beautiful boy...

This is Jeremiah. He stole Susie's heart and since they weren't looking to adopt a third time, they became his advocate. Within weeks God had directed them to bring Jeremiah home, too. So, in November the Townsend Family committed to bringing Jeremiah home. Since then they've completed a  home study, prepared a dossier and become fully funded. How good is God?

An adoption from Jeremiah's country can take a long time, minimum 18 months, sometimes dragging on as long as 3 years. We're praying for 18 months. Now, you know Susie and the thread that God has been weaving since late summer when our stories crossed paths.

Next up is my friend, Shelby. I met Shelby at Julie's gymnastic's class. Her son has class on Wednesdays at the same time Julie has class, so we began to talk. Shelby is a pastor's wife, an adoptive Mom, a foster Mom, she's in the process of adopting from foster care, currently. I met Shelby in September and I love Shelby. She's one of those people that is full of JOY, no matter her circumstances. She's the foster Mom, you wish every child in foster care was blessed to have. We have become great friends as we share the joys and struggles of our adoption journeys. Our threads crossed and Shelby has become a cherished friend.

Now, you have the cast of characters...a few Moms doing our best to follow where God leads. I know, you're looking for the connecting thread, but you'll just have to wait. It's too good to rush through.

The stage is set and I hope you'll come back for the rest of the story...

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy