A few days later, my sister asked me to go. She had some extra tickets. I told her the same thing, but I did promise I would think about it. And then my friend Michelle asked me to go. I was thinking, "What is going on with these people!" LOL Anyway, I finally reluctantly agreed to go.
The day of the concert, I really didn't want to go again! I kinda whined all day about it. Poor Keagan got to hear the bulk of my whining! But I went.
The concert was really good. Natalie Grant has a wonderful voice, and Charlotte is am amazing speaker, with such a cute British accent! I was encouraged and uplifted by the praise music, and it was good to be with my girls and my sister. Even my mom came! And my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law! I was surprised at how many friends were there! Hmmmm......
After intermission, another part of the concert began. They talked about how every show, they choose to honor someone from the community. They began talking about a woman who had two biological children, and then adopted several children. They began to talk about special needs children, and the trips to China. I was pretty shocked that this woman was living in our community, and I did not know her! I feel like I know most of the adoption mommas in our area, especially the ones who have adopted from China. And then they began talking about this woman adopting a daughter with Cerebral Palsy and a son with sickle cell......and it hit me.......I think they were talking about ME! I looked around, and everyone was looking at ME! Everyone was smiling, some were crying! I was completely and totally overwhelmed! I literally had NO IDEA! NONE! NOT A HINT! I still cannot believe that my family and friends pulled this one over on me! WOW!
I was called up onto the stage, and these two ladies kept on praising me, and it was SO awkward! I hate attention being called onto me! I didn't know whether to cry, or laugh, or try to escape back to my seat! LOL They gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and a basket full of their books, DVDs, and other merchandise. I hoped then I could escape back to my chair! But there was more. They mentioned all of our hospital trips, out of town and out of state, and they presented me with a $500 GAS CARD! And there was MORE!~ Then, they said they wanted to bless me further, and they told me that my mortgage WAS PAID FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR!!!!! I am totally serious! Again, I wanted to cry, laugh, and run back to my chair! It was this weird mixture of feeling excited, embarrassed, honored, overwhelmed, scared, thankful, and I don't even know what else! But most of all BLESSED,
I am not special. I don't deserve this special blessing. I am a momma whom God has called to mother a few orphans. I have tried my best to answer that call. Some days I love this calling, other days it makes me crazy! But I don't ever want to stand before our Lord one day, and for Him to not be pleased with me. When He moves on my heart, I want to take action. Thats all. So, here we are!
We can breathe a little easier around here right now, because of this blessing. Our finances have been stretched and then stretched some more, mainly just due to the size and financial responsibilities of parenting the 11 children still at home. This blessing is allowing us to pay off some debt, which will help our monthly budget immensely. This blessing is allowing us to get caught up a bit, and to be able to build back up our emergency savings. We are so blessed by this gift, and I simply do not know how to thank everyone who was involved.
So, from my heart, THANK YOU! From my family's hearts, THANK YOU. And I would ask that instead of just thinking about what a "great person" I am, you please consider what can YOU do for God! Is He calling you to adopt? The need is so huge....the orphan crisis is SO big! God wants His children in families! Are YOU that family? PLEASE, pray about it! And if you need guidance, encouragement, or a little "push", please let me know! It would be my honor, to let this blessing bless others!<3 p="">
