Psalm 33

It has been a tough weekend for me. In the process of trying to nail down exactly when we can expect to go pick Tabitha up I have read many more stories that had six month waits between trips than the three months we have been praying for. In my discouragement I remember Mr. Jim, our agent at Small World, telling Barry and I not to put all of our trust in everyone else's story because their story is not our story...for better or worse....our story is our story. That shook me back into reality and reminded me where MY hope belongs. I was drawn to Psalm 33 early Saturday morning, many of your will understand the significance of that before I tell you what I found, the rest of you will have to keep reading!

Psalm 33

1. Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him, 2. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten string lyre. 3. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4. For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. 5. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love. 6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth. 7. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; He puts the deep into storehouses. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him. 9. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. 10. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13. From heaven the Lord look down and sees all mankind; 14. from his dwelling place He watches all who live on earth -  15. He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. 16. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, 19. to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.  20. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. 21. In Him our hearts rejoice; for we trust in His holy name. 22. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

All of this reminded me that....

• I have to praise Him continually,
• He IS faithful and there is proof of it everywhere,
• He spoke all of this into action and He commands me to stand firm,
• The nation of Tabitha's birth is not in control of her present or her future, He is,
• He sees her at all times, even when I can't, and
• It is time for me to put all of my hope and trust in Him and let His unfailing love rest on me while I wait on Him.

I have also been reminded that the three years we were "supposed" to wait on her referral He shortened to two months, the three weeks we were "supposed" to wait for her referral to be translated He shortened to one and the two months we were "supposed" to wait to make our first trip He shortened to three weeks (we were not "supposed" to meet her till mid May). In the unlikeliness that her file would still be available from December to February, He kept her for us. He has Tabitha in His hands and us in His arms. Please hold me accountable to keep my faith in Him only, not myself  and not in the stories of other families. Please join us in praying that the current Minister of Justice works diligently between now and the May 13th elections for the orphans trying to get home; that the elections do not slow down the process of the court system; and that the elected Minister of Justice has a heart for orphans and also works diligently on their behalf. Thank you all for your love and support in this process, I'm quite certain we wouldn't make it through without your encouragement.