The Joy of Answered Prayers

We just got off of our Skype call with the agency. We went into this call pretty certain that we would be proceeding with either Bulgaria or Ukraine, and not China. We were ok with that, actually. China was still the first choice in our hearts for obvious reasons, but we were more concerned with our child coming home than we were where he (or she) was coming from. After over an hour of talking, or listening really, to all that he had to say about each program, we ended with one question. Knowing what you know about our situation and what our obstacles are, what would you do? What would your recommendation be? And he very matter of factly said, "Oh, China, all the way. Without a doubt. If these are the only obstacles you have, don't even worry about them. Get your credit card out and pay for that home study to get started." We couldn't really believe what we were hearing. What we thought was a definite no for us, ended up being not a big deal at all. We closed the laptop, and I fell into J's arms almost in tears. I told him that I had never really felt this feeling before. For most of my adult life, I have felt the joy that comes through sacrifice and suffering. But this was one of the first times that I can remember feeling the elation of knowing that Father was simply blessing my socks off, just because He could and He wasn't asking me to sacrifice anything in my heart's desire to receive that blessing. We are adopting a child from China! I can't help but see the face of my new little one in the face of every precious set of eyes that I see walk past me all day long. There is a God-shaped hole there for someone I have never met before and I am loving the warmth of feeling Father's love for me in this way. I know that there are valleys to come, but for now...I am grateful for the mountain top and I am enjoying the view!