My Son...(by Chad)

 Today I write my first post and hopefully what is the first of many as I continue this pursuit of life and to its fullest, moving in the direction where the light continues to shine brighter with every step forward.

  As I think about my son it stirs up so many emotions in me that I can't contain it and I need to share how he is already making an impact in my life as well as individuals all around me.

 Because of my son, I am receiving people's blessings through their God-given talents and I also experiencing the compassion others have for those around them. I am being blessed by people's ideas for fundraisers, individuals creating art work, some donating their toys that they have had since they were tots, others donating their countless hours of service to help us with our continuous venture to bring us one step closer to bringing lil man home, people sending us checks in the mail, people asking their friends/family to help us create baskets/gifts for our silent auction (complete strangers to me!)...

 Because of my son, my faith is being challenged to grow deeper and I'm gaining a better understanding of the Father-Son relationship. Through this experience I have had to learn how to lay down my pride and in so doing I have seen God blessing me with the different doors that He is opening. I'm overwhelmed with how difficult it would be to give up my only son to sacrifice because He is so in love with the world (us). I haven't even met my son, but I know that I wouldn't give him up for anything and I know that I would give up my world and sacrifice everything for him, even if that meant giving my own life. I see God at work everyday and a great example is recently when we were coming up to a date needing our next payment turned in and we were still roughly about $500.00 short of the payment. The day before we needed to make the payment, a check came in the mail for $500.00. I can't even put into words how He's made Himself known to me through this process. We knew from the beginning of this process that we didn't have the money to pay for this by ourselves so we have been in a constant state of prayer that if this is what He wants that He will provide. Watching God work His miraculous power has been foundational for me in that I'm learned how to let go and let God in every aspect of my life, not just finances.

 Because of my son, new friendships are being discovered, old friendships are being renewed, and existing friendships are growing deeper. Through all of this I have met people who are going through the process of adopting children from different areas of the world and I have been introduced to individuals that were born in Ghana. I have made friendships with individuals that, without this process, would have probably remained acquaintances.

 Because of my son, I am beginning to appreciate a culture very different from what I am familiar with. I am discovering new foods to try! I have discovered it rather difficult to find a Bible for children that isn't filled with every character looking like they've never seen a day of sunlight in their life. I have learned that not everything I read on every Ghana website is always accurate information.

 Because of my son, I'm developing into the man that God destined me to become. I'm learning through this whole process that as I've called myself a procrastinator, I'm really just making excuses for myself that allow me to sit back and watch others do the work for me. At the same time, waiting until the last minute disconnects me from the Spirit, as he prompts me to move on whatever situation is needing to be accomplished. I'm growing in the understanding that God has given me spiritual gifts and if I hold back from using them, because of fear of what others think of me, that I am doing a disservice to others, in that what I'm holding back from sharing maybe what God needs them to hear.

 So I have shared about the ways ive already been impacted and the emotions that this experience has produced. This video ties into this message about "my son"  and the deeper call that we have personally felt through this journey. It has a very powerful message (get your tissues ready!).