Happy Thanksgiving

This is my (Michael) first blogpost! Amanda's the writer in our family.... But I wanted to write today's Thanksgiving post...

As we all know, Thanksgiving comes around the same time frame every year. We do the same thing every year as well; cook lots of food, drinks lots of fluid, and take lots of naps. We take turns at the table thanking God for what we have and what we have been able to do in the past year. But this year for me I am not only thankful for those things, but as well as for the things to come.

Of course I am thankful for the many blessings our family has had in the past year, like spending much needed time with Amanda’s father before Alzheimer’s started to take away his memories. I am thankful for being employed and having a steady income, whereas the majority of America is struggling just to make ends meet. I am thankful for a house to live in and spend time with my family in. I am thankful for the health my family has had and even the health they have not had at times. I am also thankful for the times our family has had together just spending quality time. That time is worth more than anything to me. I am thankful for a wife that is on fire for God and has not let any road block stand in her way in accomplishing what God sets in her heart. I am thankful for Ilana and Aydan and how they teach me and others more about God than we have learned in 20 years! I am thankful for the faith my family has and how it truly has carried us and will continue to carry us through anything.

But still this year I am most thankful for the journey that our family is on with the Ethiopian adoption, and I am thankful for the things God has in store for us in the future.  Amanda and I have both had hearts for the broken hearted and as we have traversed down the path of adoption, we have been exposed to more and more of the broken hearts that await joy and hope in this world.  My heart breaks for them and all orphans in the world, especially since I know that I cannot help every one of them. But I am thankful for the moment my family is going to have when we see that child for the first time. A closure to one path, the waiting path, in this God created journey will come to an end. The next path will begin and that will be the process of finally bringing our child home. This path I am thankful for because it will be at that moment that we will be fulfilling God’s desire for our family. I am thankful for the lessons we are going to learn along this journey of true love, care, and family. I am thankful for the experiences we are going to go through that will push us, break us, and make us stronger. As this next year progresses I pray that God continues to show us His wonder and wisdom, and for Him to continue to reveal his vision for our family. Thank you for all the prayers and I ask that you continue to pray for our family and our journey. Your prayers and encouragement are appreciated and I don’t know how we will ever be able to thank everyone for the support they have provided. Lastly, I ask that as you think about our family, please pray for our child that we will hopefully soon see. Pray that he/she is being loved and that they are protected. Thank you to everyone and most of thank you God for your divine plan for our life.