Before and After

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm having my quiet time and doing devotions, I often end up jumping around.  It never ceases to amaze me how I am led through scripture to the exact places I need to be.

As I continue down this journey to bring Olivia home, I gain confidence and assurance from many different places.  It seemed to me that many of the other women on the road to bring home their sons and daughters read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young as a part of their morning quiet time, so I picked it up.

Today it said,

"This is the day that  have made, Rejoice and be glad in it.  Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life...To find Joy in this day, you must live within its boundaries.  I knew what I was doing when I divided time into twenty-four hour segments.  I understand human frailty, and I know that you can only bear the weight of only one day at a time."

(There is more to, so you'll want to pick up a copy for yourself!)

At the bottom of the page, it always references a couple of specific verses.  When I was looking them up, something jumped out at me.  One of my brothers-in-law really dislikes it when scripture is taken out-of-context.  He thinks that we often miss things when we look only at one verse at a time.  Today I agree with him.

We're all familiar with the first verse, Psalms 118:24 -

"This is the day  the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

But what about the next verses, 25 & 26 -

"O LORD save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.  From the house of the LORD we bless you."

And we also know Jeremiah 29:11 -

"'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

But what about verse 10?

"This is what the LORD says, 'When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.'"

What, you might ask, does this have to do with this blog about Olivia's adoption?  Well, I am learning more and more every day, that the adoption journey is one of faith - faith that will be grown, stretched, challenged, and blessed.

The two specific sets of scripture above, combined with the Jesus Calling words speak to my heart in this way:

• We are to rejoice in TODAY because the LORD made it with a very specific purpose.  Each day has its purpose and to look too far ahead or dwell on what has already happened takes away from the blessings of this day.  This adoption waiting stuff is hard and I'm ready for it to be over and to be on a plane to Olivia.  But there is a reason that I'm still waiting.  And I need to be intentional about looking for the blessings of TODAY.
• When we come in the name of the LORD, we will be blessed and He will give us success.
• The LORD not only has plans to prosper and give us hope, but He will keep the promises that He has made to us.  It may take years (hopefully only months in the case of bringing Olivia home) before these promises come true, but they will come true.

No fancy or profound close.  Just wanted to share what was on my heart.  And a reminder to check out the surrounding verses.  If you skip them, you might miss something good.