A Word From Mom

So Madelyn asked me to write a "Word from Mom" for her October newspaper she publishes. I wanted to share it with you all!

A Word From Mom:

If you had asked me 25 years ago, when I married my beloved, if I would have a big family someday, I would have told you that the answer was, “No”. When Glenn and I had been married 6 years and had Brittany and Madelyn, and realized that they would be our only biological children due to medical complications on my part, I truly thought we were done having children, and that we would be just a cute little family of 4. End of story. Well...that was the end of my story as I thought of it back then, but thankfully that was NOT the end of God’s story concerning our family.

You see, a few years later found Glenn and I realizing that we needed to trust God with the size of our family. Every so often over the last 9 years of letting God grow our family, there have been times when I’ve wondered if He was done, and then I would be reminded of several Bible verses that have become our family verses:
James 1:27:  “Care for the orphans and the widows...”, and also Proverbs 3:5-6--”Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and he WILL direct your path.”

And so now, we have 8 (7 at home and one married ) children, (of which 6 are adopted), 1 wonderful son-in-love, 2 beautiful grand daughters, and 2 adopted children coming, we are praying VERY soon.

Another important verse to us as a family is this one:  1 Peter 3:15..”Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that lies within you.” This is a big one for us, especially when we are out and about as a familiy. We are...well...quite a spectacle for some. We get a lot of attention, and we get asked a lot of questions.  God prompted me a while back to take advantage of the free business cards you could get from Vista printing and order a card that would be for our family, with our testimony on it, our blog, and our family mission field. I did that and carry those with me now wherever we go.
So...

The other day we were all in Trader Joe’s. It was the first time we had ever been there together as a whole family. Nicole and Rosie greatly enjoyed the little kid’s carts they have, and LOVED helping us collect up some groceries! We’d been in the store for quite awhile when one of the boys, (of course), noticed that they were serving up some samples of pumpkin soup and some crackers, and asked if we could try some. So we all ambled up to the counter and the woman started serving us. “Are these children all yours she said?”, “Yes,”, was my answer.  “Well God bless you!”, she said. “He certainly has, and continues to do so!” is how I LOVE to answer that comment!  Then she said...”How in the world do you keep them in order, and how can they be so well behaved?” *(note:  this is always such a blessing when someone says that, because this is NOT how I thought things were going on this day, with Miss Rosie like the Road Runner with her cart and a need for speed, and NOT watching out for others, etc--anyway)..I took a deep breath and first said...”Thank you very much, it truly is by the Grace of God, that our children are this way, and lots and lots of hard work and training on our part.” She really didn’t know what to say to this, but just again told me how encouraged she was by our children and how well they worked together as a team, and that she had never seen anything like it as long as she’d worked there. I thought that was sad, but then I decided to give her one of our family cards. She asked how many of our children were adopted, and I told her a bit of our story, and how we are in the process of rescuing 2 more children, and I’d love for her to keep in touch with us. She then wanted to talk about adoption, and how she and her husband have talked about it a lot. She asked about money, and house size (another 2 of the most commonly asked questions--I’m sensing maybe a need for another business card with all of the frequently asked questions and answers on them--or maybe even a full tract--wouldn’t that be cool?), and so I was able to share all of that with her, and how we have trusted God and allowed Him to grow our family, and provide for the money needs ALL along the way. She was amazed! So you see, seeds were planted, and her heart was totally soft toward it all. She said she’d stay in touch, check out our blog, and email me!

It’s exciting to be a part of God’s plan as he grows our family and prepares warriors and princesses for His kingdom! I wouldn’t have it ANY other way!

Is trusting the Lord easy...”NOPE”, but it is ever so rewarding! Don’t you agree?

In His Love,
Mary a.k.a. Mommy and Grammie