Have you ever wondered how God could work all things together for good in your life? Maybe you’re in a situation that feels impossible, a marriage that is unraveling, a job environment that is unhealthy and all you can see is HARD.
In my Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion today, I share how I wrestled with this in the midst of very difficult circumstances during and after our daughter’s adoption, and the ways God showed me HOW He was working things for “good” in unexpected ways.
If you hopped over from my devotion, I’m so glad you stopped by! As promised, here are a few photos that tell part of the story of us bringing our beautiful girl home. {And there’s special giveaway at the end of this post.}
All I could see were the hard parts. Everything we would have to give up: sleep, money, comfort, familiarity, others’ approval. All the hard things we would have to navigate: huge expenses and significant changes.
What if our sons resented us for re-arranging their lives forever? What if our parents and extended family didn’t approve? What if we exhausted our time, emotions and money only to end up with broken hearts and an empty bank account? How could God work all that together for good?
I could not see how. I could only see “hard.” Yet we knew God was calling our family to adopt a severely malnourished baby girl from Ethiopia. And in October 2009 we brought Aster home.
Was it hard? Yes. Even more than I imagined.
But as I trace God’s hand over the past five years since we brought Aster home, I see Him working countless things {together} for good. Most of all, I see a handwritten love letter sent to our little girl from her Heavenly Father, written on every page of our adoption story.
I see God working the hard things together for good. Despite our inadequacy, sadness and fear of the unknown when Aster was diagnosed with a speech disorder, global developmental delays, low muscle tone and sensory processing disorder, I now see God working it all for good.
I see God working the overwhelming things together for good. A year of sleepless nights brought out servant-hearted compassion in our teenage sons when they saw their dad struggling with depression caused by sleep-deprivation. I’ll never forget the night they decided to take turns sleeping on a mattress in their sister’s room to relieve her anxiety and give us back our desperately needed sleep.
I see God working even the embarrassing things together for good. Like the day I had a meltdown in my car and a stranger tapped on my window to see if I was okay. And that same afternoon, I ran out of gas on my way to get my youngest son at basketball which mean my oldest son, who had a new cast on his broken foot, had to push our car off the road. I see awesome stories for them to tell their children about me one day.
When my reality doesn’t look or feel like “good” to me, I ask God to help me see how. How he is keeping his promise that “in all things [He] works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Roman 8:28).
What I’ve discovered is this: God is always working things together for good, but not just for our good. Sometimes we are part of His working things together for someone else’s good.
You see, I believe Jesus heard a mother in Africa praying for her baby. A mother who was living in the middle of “hard” like I’d never imagined. A mother who couldn’t see how she could give her little girl the nurture and nutrition she needed.
Hagere: Aster’s birth-mother feeding her during our visit.
And when God heard that mama’s prayers, He tapped on the heart of a family in North Carolina who loved Him and were called according to His purpose. I also believe God saw an orphanage in Ethiopia searching for a forever family to provide unconditional love and medical care for a 6-month old, 8 pound baby with pneumonia.
So Jesus went back to that family in North Carolina who had been asking God to reveal Himself to them and through them, knowing this little girl would be an answer to that prayer.
And that’s when God started working the hard, impossible, and overwhelming things {together} for good.
Is there a relationship or situation in your life where all you see is hard? Have you asked God how He can work some part of it together for good?
I don’t know about you, but some days I need a tangible reminder that He can. A visual that prompts me to pray and helps me remember how He does, like the beautiful bead necklace I’m wearing below made from repurposed bullets found in the rubble of Ethiopian soil.
Each time I look at it, I remember how God answered a desperate mother’s prayers for her baby and filled my family’s longing to experience more of Him. Only He could know how much we needed the gift of a little girl to light up our world, and to remind us that He indeed can work even the hardest things {together} for good.
ENTER TO WIN To celebrate how Jesus takes the hard and heart-breaking realities of life and works them together for good, Proverbs 31 Ministries is partnering with Fashion & Compassion to create a beautiful jewelry line from repurposed bullets found in the rubble of Ethiopian soil. “SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS” under this post and you’ll be entered to win.
The From Bullets to Blessings Collection is handcrafted from Ethiopian bullets, dug out of rubble, and assembled by vulnerable and rescued women throughout Mexico and Charlotte, NC. CLICK HERE to find out more about the collection and the women who create these pieces. It’s a beautiful picture of God working the hard things together for good in their lives through Fashion & Compassion.
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Renee,
I have followed your journey with baby Aster well she’s not a baby anymore!! I’ve read your struggles, concerns, melt downs etc I have to say, your strength, faith & encouragement have helped me numerous times during my difficult journey in this temporary life.
This summer I had 2 life changing events occur, the loss of a man I thought was the one but that wasn’t the biggest betrayal he caused, besides the lying, cheating & allowing me to love his daughter as my own, he played a part in being fired from my dream job as a flight nurse, something I’ve worked for my entire career.
Through this devastating time though, I’ve been blessed beyond measure. One of our previous pilots & his wife who I’ve never met were my strong cheerleaders. God provided them to me to get through this hard lesson. I would love to win the earrings to send to her. Their faith is strong & mighty. I’m learning God has a very different plan for me. I’m hoping to go with a medical team to Haiti next year, my sister just left Tuesday with a group of amazing women from our church!! Please say a little prayer for them.
Thank you for your blogs, it helps to read the struggles every Christian woman experiences!!
Give Aster & the boys hugs & kisses from our family to your, god bless all of you.
What a wonderful story of God’s plans working every time. Thank you for this blessing!
Thank you Father God for using Aster to bring some many blessings to this family .Thank you Renee for sharing your story. It is greatly encouraging to be able to look back and see the blessings from such hard times. I have been blessed by your story. We too are going through a hard place. I look forward to being able to see the blessings from this time. I know that God is faithful !
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing, Renee! I, too, can’t imagine being that mom having to say good-bye to my little one who would be going so far away, yet the hope that must have been in her heart! This adds to what I have been reading this morning about praising God in the difficult things, as well as the good, for all He as done for us and given us. We don’t always know what it good for us and bring our preconceived ideas to God. We must let God decide what is best for our eternal souls and the souls of others. (Merlin Carothers – Praise News – November 2 014) Perhaps we want to know too much – more than we need to know at the time- God knows (from my husband). Along with this from Gary Wilkerson: “Thankfulness is faith. It’s simply an outward expression that we believe God will do what He promised. it is believing He will keep us through any season of our lives.” (World Challenge Pulpit Series – “A note from Gary Wilkerson” – August 18, 2014.) I hope this makes sense. God continue to bless you and your precious family richly. Praise God for lessons learned in both the good and difficult! I am doing that too, as I have been working consistently for the past month and 1/2 – outside the home- for the first time in nearly 28 years. I am 58 years young. 🙂
What an amazing story of how God works! I am sure it was hard for her birth mother to say goodbye, but it had to make her feel better that her daughter was being adopted by a wonderful, loving family. She is a beautiful girl and I sure has blessed you over and over. Thank you for sharing your story!
Wow.. what a wonderful testimony of love and encouragement. Thank you for reminding us it is not always about “us”. What an inspiration your testimony God has provided shines the light of God’s love so everyone can see HIM through you. God has provided you with a wonderful family and ministry to share and you do it so wonderfully. May HE continue to bless you beyond measure.
Thanks for sharing this post today. I have been struggling through HARD for quite a few months now, and everything I have done, only seems to make things harder. I have been to the point of thinking God just wants me to be in pain and struggle. It doesn’t matter how much I pray, read the bible and devotionals, such as yours, nothing I am doing is bringing even a glimmer of light at the end of this long, black tunnel. There is no one in my home who shares my faith, so I basically have to fight alone. I have a wonderful Christian counselor who I have reached out to again, hoping to ease the pain. I am currently housebound, so everything I do is through phone or written communication. I have always suffered from chronic depression, so this many months of pain and infirmity, has brought it to the forefront. I haven’t given up hope yet, and your post helped to affirm my continuing battle through “hard.” God bless!
Renee you and your family are a true blessing to Aster and her precious Mom. The dedication and love of your 2 boys to their baby sister was heart warming. Aster
is so precious too Renee. Your devotion confirms to me that Our Lord and Savior is in our Reality as well. I was having doubts that God will see me through but somehow He was not in my reality here on earth. Your devotion has helped me see that Jesus is in my reality here on earth as well. I had hysterectomy surgery but the doctor injured me now I am praying I do no have to go through open surgery again for them to cut me open again that would mean longer time away from work. I pray my injury can be correct and I get back to normal soon.
But Renee you and your husband and children has shown me today that its not about me only that God is also working in the lives of others as well. You have given Aster and her Mom a special gift. You are now Aster precious Mommy too.
God BLESS you and your entire family and Aster ‘s other Mom.
Thanks for the encouragement when HARD has been going on for so many years and GOOD has not yet made an appearance.
We also adopted. We have had many challenges with our little girl but God has been so merciful and has given us all the strength and hope we’ve needed. Without a doubt he is working everything for good!
Lord give me you eyes for just one second to see what you see in others and in circumstances. AMEN
Thank you for sharing. You are so right, it’s so hard to see how God is working things for good when you are in the middle of a storm. For me it’s so hard to trust Him and know that there is a purpose for those hard times. Thanks for giving hope.
Oh my goodness! You are exactly describing my situation now. We adopted domestically two little boys with hard beginnings but have the same issues you are facing with your sweet little girl right now! We still have the sleepless nights, I am now in the process of having the older boy evaluated for school services, in fact just got off the phone with starting the process. I can’t seem to be able to keep up on the house with all of the housework, cooking cleaning, therapy, etc., etc. We are seeing an adoption counselor for behavioral issues, and have health issues, and just plain are tired. I do know Jesus will work this all out for good, for us, for the boys, for our extended family, for other parents who are struggling with adoption issues, and for other people who are needing hope. Yes just last week I was a puddling mess, and today I’m not feeling so overwhelmed, but know I have a ton on my plate yet, but the Lord assured us without a doubt that He was, in this adoption. We can see His hand in all of this, and He has assured us He will give us everything we need to raise our/His boys.
Thank you for this timely post, this speaks to me exactly where I am today……Like Jesus speaking these words to me to give me the boost and encouragement I need(ed). Many blessings!
Blessings to All!
Thank you Renee for honestly sharing your life – your words truly encourage me (as well as countless others).
I had lived in the “hard” for so very long that it was impossible to see the “how.” I grew up in a dysfunctional family (looked good on the outside but was “hell” behind the closed doors. I lived in fear for most of my childhood & left home in my teens. Imagine life for a teenage girl in the streets of Chicago & then think even worse). I had thought if I could only try harder maybe it would get better, maybe I could get better, be better and yet I felt I’ll never be good enough. I felt so alone, so dirty, so worthless…
What I didn’t know was God was ordering my steps so that I would be able to help other women see how they are loved by an amazing God. That He has made me a new creation, that I am shiny & sparkling clean.
Having lived in the “hard” I’m able to share hope in the “how” = crying out to God in all the brokenness & coming to believe that Jesus washed me clean.
I am holy, righteous & redeemed!
Janet A.
What a powerful story!
Thank you for this beautiful story. As a mother of two little ones I often wonder how I will manage all that lies before me each day…. it is truly by God’s grace that we all care for our children. My mother was born and raised in Asmara, Ethiopia. She has shared countless stories of growing up and your story has added to the blessings of knowing that we serve a mighty God. A God who knows no geography or boundaries.
Thank you for sharing and I pray that my family would also be ever reminded of our need to listen to God’s voice. To follow His calling regardless of how dificult we may feel that it will be.
May God bless you and your family.
May God richly bless you and your family for your willingness to follow His leading in your lives. Thank you for sharing your story.
Renee,
This post came at the perfect time in my life. I have been selfishly thinking that God isn’t giving me the good for my life without realizing that He could be working through me to offer someone else the good. It really has changed my perspective on how He is working my life. He is working good in my life just not in the way I expected but in His way. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your story! What a beautiful daughter – and an amazing journey! And I appreciate the reminder that sometimes God uses us for the good of someone else. My prayer is to be open to God’s prompting – to be used by Him to bless others.
What an Awesome story! So precious, and hope for others to see God is in control of the ending.