Tell Me the Story of Me...

I have been sitting on these pictures for a few weeks now, unsure whether I would post them or not. To view these pictures, one may not think they are very special, quite conversely, though the quality of these snapshots may be poor, the richness in their story is incredibly important. I had to sneak around the girls to get the pictures, as not to disturb the discussion happening:)

Emily had decided to spend a day with her grandparents in Lancaster. She was waiting for them to pick her up and she sat down to read. She chose Hannah's storybook that Adoption Voyages created for our family (thank you Chet and Dusty, it is priceless). I was painting in the powder room with Hannah at my feet when Hannah disappeared. And then I heard them, "Once upon a time, there was a little baby in China..."

Emily was telling Hannah her story.

They pointed at the pictures and recounted each detail with great precision. And it got me to thinking about the details. About how God is in every one, the details, He is in every single detail. The parking spot I found when I was hurried, the gift I found for a friend that felt perfect for her, the classroom my child learns in, the friends we have made, and on and on.

I remember about ten years ago, I had just secured a new position as a Youth Director in my home church. The hours were long, but the pay was not sufficient to sustain me. I had just discovered that I was getting a divorce and my soon-to-be ex-husband had dropped our insurance all together. I had Chrohn's disease and the medications totalled over $700 without insurance. I didn't have it. I called my mother from the pharmacy and she graciously gave her credit card that I might have my medicine. I got in my car and cried, sobbed more aptly describes it. I felt so alone and not even my faith felt strong enough to weather this storm. But, it was. As I drove home, I felt the Lord speak to me, "Go to the Administration Building." It seemed a very silly sentence and I drove past the road with the school administration building four or five times before answering obediently.

Once inside, I told the receptionist that I needed a job. "Are you a teacher?" Hmmm, no. "Well, what do you do?" I didn't know how to answer that question for that moment, but God gave me the words and soon she was rifling through postings to find a match to my skill set. That would set in motion a series of events that would land me a job in the classroom with children affected by autism. I didn't see it then, but oh, how God was in the details of that interaction.

In the meantime, my divorce would become final and I would meet and marry Rob (details, people, details:) I worked both jobs until Emily was born in 2002. We then made the choice for me to stay home with our daughter. Settled on that decision, God wasn't quite done yet. I received a phone call from a mother wanting me to work privately with her son, Ray. I have been with Ray for six years. In those years, I have been blessed to enter and exit their home like a family member. I also met other therapists in that home. Gerry. Jim's wife.

Now, for those of you who have followed us from the beginning, most of this you know. But for those just jumping on board, Gerry was also one of Ray's therapists. Her husband Jim (Uncle Jimmy) assisted Rob on the trip to China to bring Hannah home. When Gerry and Jim called us to let us know they had prayed, and God had called Jim to help us with this all-important task of bringing our daughter home, we couldn't believe it, but see, God knew. He had the details worked out long before we could have known. Down. to. the. very. last. one. Our trip was pushed up one week, the exact dates of Uncle Jimmy's vacation, planned months before. God is in the details.

On Friday, I went with Emily's class to the nature center for a field trip. We waited in the vestibule of school for the buses. Through the front door came Uncle Jimmy with his grandson, Jamieson to visit Gerry, who happens to be the receptionist for Emily's school, now. (details:) As I watched him hold that sweet little boy, it was no different than the way he held our daughter for two weeks in China. This weekend, for the first time since Rob, Jim and Hannah have been home our family watched all four tapes recorded in China. Two men and a baby, who would have believed how tender this story could be? God. He planned every detail. From that first moment when Hannah lovingly gazed into Rob's eyes, to the moments that followed when she stroked his cheek and clung to his chest. Other moments would include Hannah embracing Uncle Jimmy and two incredible men making this tiny scared baby, laugh belly laughs for the camera and say "mama" for the very first time. God knew who would complete the task. A journey ten years in the making...God was in every single detail.

In my current Bible Study, I reflected over this verse in Jeremiah,

"The word of the Lord came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5

completely confirming for me the truth that God is in the details in a way that we can never understand. I am so thankful for the mundane, daily details He shows Himself in like two sisters sharing the miraculous history of their union. And I continue to stand amazed at the big details, the ones we cannot possibly fathom that make up the foundation of our very faith.

Which details did you see Him in today?