#happychinesenewyear
#amazingsurprise
#shockingGodmoment
#answered prayer
#faithfulGod
#truegenerosity
.........
Though I could certainly write a number of hashtags describing our day today, let me give you a quick run down of what today looked like. Our Friday started like any other day, but quickly took a turn in a very different direction. Nate and I had to head out early this morning and as we backed our car out of the garage, I happened to look up and then pointed to our front door that had a white envelope attached to it. It was at that moment that Nate stopped the car and I jumped out into the cold and ran up to our door and pulled the taped envelope off the door. I quickly ran back to the car (insert- Leah does not like the cold) and then we headed out of our neighborhood. As we were turning down a nearby street, I began opening the envelope with both of us assuming this was just another HOA letter since there have been quite a few of these in recent weeks.
Within just a matter of seconds, my heart began to beat quicker and I took a deep breath and said, "Nate, it's not an HOA letter." I told him, "You're not going to believe this, but there is a very generous gift in here and a letter talking about our adoption process." I began reading the lines on the neatly typed letter which were filled with sweet words, instructions to use this towards our adoption expenses for China, and a verse that we are all familiar with, "Matthew 18:5"- signed "Your Friends".
We really had no idea what to say in that moment. (insert crickets chirping here--and if you know both of us, you know that not being able to talk is not a common thing) I think we both just sat there in thankful silence, whispering a thankful prayer to God, but also literally in shock. Of course it's natural to immediately start "guessing" who we know that might have not only have been sneaky and could have easily gotten caught putting this on our door this morning :) BUT who would want to remain anonymous in giving this gift. Regardless of these details, it did make for a very interesting discussion for a short commute this morning and you know you would do EXACTLY the same thing and just try to guess over and over, even though we all know it's basically pointless to keep trying as there's obviously no proof that who you are guessing actually did it.
I'd love to know if the person who gave us this gift realized today was the first day of Chinese New Year. If they didn't- what a perfect day to give this gift as today marks the first day of Chinese New Year, which should likely mark the year when we will most likely travel to China to bring "Little Miss" home. (based on our time in this process and where we know we are according to our agency)
Chinese New Year is celebrated not only in China, but in many countries in Asia. (though many tend to think of it only as celebrated in China) It is a common custom on Chinese New Year to give cash in red envelopes (ok, so ours wasn't red, but that's ok!) as part of the New Year festivities. (think of it as a holiday much like our Christmas in many ways and how we celebrate here in the U.S.) I'm pretty sure this will be a gift we'll always remember.
To the Person Who Gave us This Gift Today:
"If you are by chance reading this post right now, we want you to know how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness, your generosity, and are beyond humbled that you would do such a loving act. We don't know who you are, but God knows and we know without a doubt that He will honor and bless your gift far greater than you will probably ever know. You are an answer to prayers that we have prayed since the day we answered God's call to adopt from China and walked into this process with blind faith like a child asking Him to be glorified through every part of it. On our own we know that we can't make this happen-- but God can. May God receive glory because of your gift. We know that it is not only us that thank you, but a little one in China will benefit from your giving heart and we can't wait for you to meet her.
With overflowing hearts----
Nate & Leah
So as amazing as today was, we all know that you can't kick off the start of Chinese New Year without some Asian food and it wouldn't be right to end today without a fortune cookie (which actually aren't even found in China at all, though Americans tend to think of them as Chinese)...so I thought I'd share with you one of our fortunes today. Maybe it's a sign of things to come?
(Nate said this must have been the fortune cookie I received when I was 18 that actually came true) :)
So to our Asian friends, to all of my co-workers who so diligently work to help families bring children home from China, and to all of the families out there currently adopting or have adopted from China in the past- from our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Chinese New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment