The Story of Gideon. . .

I remember on the night that we decided to start praying about adoption, that we discussed the story of Gideon.  Gideon was one of the judges of Israel, but that's not where he started.  He started as just a man who loved Yahweh.  God called him to save his beloved Israel who were worshiping false gods.  Gideon didn't think he was cut out for the job, so he asked God for a sign.  Here's how the story went in Judges 6-8. . . . .

"How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest of all Israel, and I am the weakest of my clan!" cried Gideon. "If this is true, give me a sign."
That night, Gideon prayed to God and said, "Father, if you are really going to use me to save my nation, make the dew form on just this fleece and keep the grass around it dry."

He placed a wool fleece on the ground and went to bed. The next morning when he awoke, he checked the fleece. It was so wet, he wrung a bowl of water from it and the grass around it was dry.

That night he asked God, "Dear God, please don't be mad at me. I want to be sure you are going to use me to save my people. Tonight, make the fleece dry, and the grass around it wet." He placed the wool fleece on the ground and went to bed. When he awoke the next morning, he picked up the fleece. It was as dry as popcorn without butter and his bare feet were soaked with water from the grass. It was true, God was going to use him to save Israel.

There were serious doubts in our minds.  We certainly didn't think we were cut out to start over with another kid.  Our schedules were full.  We both work full time.  We had two other boys to consider.  We didn't know how we would pay for it.  We needed confirmation of the Gideon kind, and so we just asked for it.  Maybe not a fleece, but perhaps a billboard.  My sister graciously offered to put one on I-85 if that would help.  =)

Well. . . the joke was on us.  Turns out that the thirty days we committed to pray during the month of November was Adoption Awareness Month.  Adoption messages on billboards, facebook, the radio, TV, etc.  begin to hit us from all sides.  Orphan Sunday happened at church and they showed this video. Warning: do not watch unless you want a swift kick in the pants. :)  

http://vimeo.com/25816432

The hits kept coming, and they all culminated  when one of our pastors preached one of those sermons where he could have just dismissed everyone else and just preached to the two of us.  Anyone else ever had that happen to them?  It was if God was speaking directly to us in audible language.  Freaky!!  

We have been going through 2 Corinthians, and that week we talked about Paul and his ministry in Troas.  God had opened big doors for him there.  He was feeling effective in ministry.  God was present.  But. . . he was brokenhearted for the Corinthians, so instead of staying put, he traveled to Macedonia to meet Titus for reassurance about his brothers and sisters in Corinth.

^{2 Corinhians 2:12-14}When I arrived in Troas to proclaim the Message of the Messiah, I found the place wide open: God had opened the door; all I had to do was walk through it. But when I didn't find Titus waiting for me with news of your condition, I couldn't relax. Worried about you, I left and came on to Macedonia province looking for Titus and a reassuring word on you. And I got it, thank God! 

That's where we were.  Comfortable.  Doors were open.  Ministry was effective.  The boys were well adjusted and doing just fine.  Why would we even consider leaving the comfort and security that we had, and invite in chaos and uncertainty.  Well. . . Paul said it best. . . this is why. . .


^{2 Corinthians 2:14-16}In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.

It was clear that this certainly wasn't about us and what we wanted.  It was about God, and spreading his fame.  In the truck after church with tears in our eyes, we committed to start walking through doors.   That was eight days into our 30 day prayer commitment.  We heard as clearly as Gideon did that we should move. . . so we did.

Oh Happy Day!!

On June 20th, in a courtroom in Alabama, this sweet baby boy officially became what he already was in our hearts. . . a DeWalk!! Jeremiah Michael DeWalk!!

Over the next several weeks, we want to share our adoption story with those who read our blog. It's not really a story about us or about Jeremiah. It's really a story about a BIG God with BIGGER plans than we could have possibly ever imagined on our own. We hope you will be blessed as you read along, and that this journey of ours will challenge you to find your place in His Story.

 A little from the beginning of the journey. . .

Rick and I have been married for almost 12 years. We have two boys, Gabriel (10) and Christian (7). You can ask any of my doctors and they would tell you that with the health issues that I had when we were first married, they truly are MIRACLES!! After several surgeries, miscarriages, and finally the doctor's strong suggestion that we should not have any other children, we counted our blessings and agreed that our family was complete.

 At some of the most difficult times when we were in the process of building our family, we briefly discussed adoption. That discussion has come up several times over the years, but Rick and I were never on the same page when it came to moving forward.

That brings us to October 28, 2011. Date night. We visited a Mexican restaurant called Papa's and Beer. It was there that Rick told me that he had been surfing adoption websites during some down time at work. I couldn't have been more surprised than I was. We hadn't had this discussion for several years. After alot of speculating about what that meant and coming up with nothing, we committed that for the next thirty days we would pray and see what God wanted for our family. Little did we know what would come our way during those thirty days.  You can read about that in the next post. 


A little from today. . . 


Okay. . . back to Papa's and Beer. We were there on the night we decided to start praying about adoption. We were also there on the night that we found out that Jeremiah was really going to be ours. And tonight. . . we celebrated the official decree that he is OURS!! Of course. . . we already knew that. God has confirmed that over and over again in our hearts. We are excited to share the rest of the story with you. Until then, enjoy the pictures from our celebration tonight. Welcome to our family, little boy. You have blessed us beyond measure!! Our cup runneth over!!