Rejoicing

Psalm 5

Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
You destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;
their inmost self is destruction;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may exult in you.
For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Friday was a special day for our family. It was a day of potential anxiety that turned out to be a day of great rejoicing. On Friday we finalized Hugo and Maria's adoption in our county court system. Our time with the judge was good and very low stress. Even though there were twelve cases scheduled for 8:30 that morning (yes, all 12 scheduled for the exact same time), we were in and out of the courthouse within an hour!

After receiving the adoption decree, our family went to eat a celebratory meal at La Colonia, an Ecuadorian and Colombian restaurant in Minneapolis. The food was fabulous and the employees were wonderful to our family. I have never seen plates so full of food! We enjoyed rice, beans, platanos, chicharon, trucha, arepas, tostones and more! We ate, talked, and relaxed together there until we were so full we might burst and we even ended up taking left overs home for supper. During the afternoon we had some quiet time and then in the evening we went to serve together as a family packaging food for hungry children in seventy countries around the world at an organization called Feed My Starving Children. Our time there was so sweet as we worked together and I watched all of our children helping and encouraging one another to serve others.

We rejoice in God's faithfulness and His provision for our family in this adoption journey! When I read Psalm 5 I am struck by the contrast between the first three verses and the final two verses. It begins with groaning and crying out to God and ends with rejoicing and seeking refuge in Him. It is a beautiful picture of the contrasts of our life: crying out to God and groaning over some of the hard realities of our life and our children's lives, and ultimately finding refuge and joy in a merciful Father.

Hugo and Maria, we are thankful to be able to legally call you our son and daughter. It is our prayer that you would know and love this good Heavenly Father who hears our groanings and gives attention to our cries and provides refuge, love, and joy for us. It is our prayer that together with you, our home and family would be a place of refuge and rejoicing that honors and delights in God.