Have you ever been in AWE of God?

awe noun, having the mind fixed on something with a mixture of delight and deep emotion caused by something extraordinary. (...Something extraordinary created by my amazing God!)

I mean really in AWE of Him! Do we ever really give ourselves the opportunity to be in awe of God? I STAND IN AWE OF GOD. For the last four weeks I have been awed by my Maker. This adoption has taught me many, many things. The most important being how to let God work in my life! As I reflect on how I came to this point in my life it really all makes sense; God was working towards this place and I didn't even recognize it! I think that is the case most of the time; we fail to see what God is doing in our lives from day to day!

I stand in awe of our new toddler son; where was I the day he was born? What was going on in my life 3 plus years ago when my son was born? I know that is when the seed of adoption became deeply rooted in my heart because of some life experiences I was going through. Little did I know that my son was already in the works and was being given a name that would fit perfectly in our family. My four girls have an "E" "A" pattern with their names: Erica, Alison, Elaina, and Amelia. I stand in awe of God paying attention to such a small detail like the letters in my son's name; he was given his name with an "E" because he was to be a Needles. I stand in awe of my baby with an "A", because a little over three years later my second son would be born and given the name "A" because he too would become a Needles. AWED!

I stand in awe of how God has orchestrated my life's journey to bring me to this place, but isn't that what He does? We just fail to recognize it! I think it's like this: when we are seeking the will of God by faith then we will be awed! God desires to WOW us; we just don't give Him the opportunity to do so. I am awed by the boy's birth mother, who has made the most sacrificial decision a mother could make in this life: the decision to give up her children with the hope of a better future for them. Then God looked to me and said, "You are this mother's hope for her children." But, I feel I am so undeserving and so under qualified...however, I'm deserving and qualified because God said I am. It is because of His grace and mercy that I am. Not because I'm something special, but because God showers me with His grace and mercy.

I have to tell you though...I really don't want to let their mother down! I want to do my best for these boys and for her. I feel like I have a lot to live up to. I also know the only way that is going to happen is with God. I'm writing this so I never forget how awed I was in my Maker and for my boys. I want them to know how awed I was to receive them, I want them to know how awed I am by their birth mother. She is a special woman, a woman that will live in my heart forever. She is a woman I will pray for always and think of often, a woman whom I am indebted to because of the special gift she gave me when she gave up her precious sons, because of a hope and dream that was in her heart. I encourage us all to take the opportunity to be AWED; even by the small things this life holds!

I want to congratulate Tracie and her family; they just returned home from Ethiopia with their beautiful son, Abel! I know she is a woman in awe of her God! I am so thankful to her, as she took amazing pictures of the boys while in Ethiopia. I am staring at them in AWE!