Life Redeemed

This afternoon as I was flipping through my Bible in preparation for our small group Bible study tonight, a picture "happened to" fall out of the pages where it was carefully tucked away. There are NO coincidences friends- God knew I needed this reminder today.  It was a HUGE revelation to me and brought me to tears like I haven't cried since we've had sweet Zoe home.  I think it's been so easy to forget how much we prayed and longed to have her home now that she's here.  We've been so busy with finding our "new normal" along with loving on and meeting both Zoe and Evan's needs in these past 3+ months that we've been home that I've almost "FORGOTTEN" how excruciating that wait to have her home was.  And even saying that word "forgotten" now seems so incredibly strange, considering how very much my heart ACHED to have her here every minute until she was in my arms.  And when I saw this picture today

  as it fell out of my Bible from the pages of Psalm 146 (which I prayed so very much during those excruciatingly tough months), all those emotions came FLOODING back.  The look on her face in this picture that my sweet  friend Jana had taken of her seemed so sweet to me back then during the waiting.  But now, after looking at those big brown eyes that have melted me every day in this last 3+ months, all I see is fear and sadness in those eyes.  This isn't the girl we know now.  And oh how I'm thankful.  We don't see this blank, sad, and scared look in her eyes anymore.  Just like her name- Zoe Tadesse means "LIFE REDEEMED", so has the change in her personality and spirit been transformed and redeemed.  The serious, shy little girl we first met in Ethiopia last June is long gone and has been replaced by this spunky, happy, mischevious, silly little girl who is always making us laugh.  

And oh how grateful I am at the transformation we have seen over the last 3 months.  Just another reminder that God can redeem ANYTHING.  And before you think "how lucky she is" or "what a great thing we've done by adopting her" which we hear ALL the time- PLEASE just know that all we have done is be open to His calling on our life and that ALL the glory belongs to HIM who has called us on this beautiful journey of adoption.  I'm so thankful that we heard and heeded His call to adopt- no matter how scary the unknowns were to us back in 2010 when we started the process.  Just like the saying goes- "If God brings you to it, He will see you through it".  I'm so incredibly thankful He called us on this journey that led us to our precious Zoe Tadesse.  And I'm so humbled He chose ME in all my imperfections and uncertainty to be her mommy.