So my life is far from hard.  The “trials” I have gone through (I really don’t even feel right calling them that) are not comparable to those that many have had and I humbly praise God for that (if that is even a right thing to do).

I guess the toughest thing that I (and Karen) have gone through has been our two plus-year adoption journey.  A plus-year year combination of international then domestic, on then off, known then unknown status, and now back on track.  A series of ups and down – all the while knowing that our amazing Heavenly Father was in control…even when we didn’t know where He was leading next!  BTW, Karen is great.  At one point, she described a disappointing situation this way, “First I was sad.  Then I was mad.  Then I was glad!”

As you can imagine – plus-year years of a mix of emotions.  At times, we’ve wondered “why God?”  At times, we’ve asked “why not God?”  We’ve even (in all honesty) said, “come on God!”  We’ve cried, been confused, been excited, been hurt, been mad, been hopeful, been discouraged.  The cool part is that through it all…THROUGH IT ALL, we’ve known that God was in control and had a plan…we’ve just gotten to see it revealed in segments and in His perfect timing!

Tuesday, I was listening to a Andy Stanley’s Defining Moments podcast (#4) and John 9:1-3 hit me.  I’ve read this so many times, heard sermons, read commentaries…  This time, it just hit me anew.  It reads:

¹As he [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  ³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

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