There have been many times in my life when I can say that God was visible to me. There have also been many times when I have felt His presence. But I can honestly say, I can count on one hand the times when I have both seen and felt Him simultaneously and over a long period of time – 13 days to be exact. What I mean by seeing Him and feeling Him is this:
- Savannah had a hard time eating. As I held her I prayed silently that she would start eating. I prayed and prayed and suddenly felt a warm and calming presence. Andy commented (from his nap I might add) “The Holy Spirit is in this room” – I agreed with tears in my eyes, looked down at my baby girl and she ate. There He was. In presence both felt and seen.
- I was nervous about Savannah being in NICU. I was concerned she would not get the care she needed along with the already obvious concerns of her health. I prayed for peace. That evening a nurse came on to the night shift that looked and acted like one of my best friends, Katie. Her name was Dana but I swear I almost called her Katie a few times. Seeing her for some reason gave me much peace and confidence that Savannah would be taken care of while we were not there. I saw God through her.
- We met a mom in the NICU who came daily to visit the little girl in the crib next to Savannah. As we sat there one night, her little girl stopped breathing for a short time. It was scary for all of us. After talking with her some we realized she is this girl’s foster mom and drives an hour and a half each day to visit her. She loves this baby girl so much. Andy, being the guy he is, struck up a conversation with her and then prayed for her before we left that night. We saw God in her and felt His presence as we all prayed right there in the NICU. We have since developed a good relationship with her and pray for her daughter, Abby, daily. Please join us in praying for her recovery, discharge and adoption.
- That same night we returned to the hotel and was stopped by the receptionist with a question about Savannah. She said, “Excuse me, what is your daughter’s name? My husband and I are prayer warriors and we would like to pray for her personally.” With tears in my eyes Andy and I headed up to the room. He looked at me and said, “that is why we are here and not at the condo”. God was there.
- My mom could sense my stress and came to Jacksonville on Monday morning. The simple thought of her presence seemed to put me at ease. I was SOOOO ready to go home it was unreal. We were told to expect our Interstate compact paperwork to take a week and a half to go through after Savannah was discharged from the hospital. That would have put us being home…today. We prayed it would only take a week which would have made us leaving on Friday. But God. He showed up once again and the paperwork was completed and approved in 3.5 business days!!!!
- On Tuesday at 1pm we were given the approval to return home. We had just one hour earlier made an appointment to meet with the birth parents later that evening to say our goodbyes. I was personally nervous about it since I knew they were having some doubts and I was sooooo ready to leave but I knew we could not leave without saying goodbye. So we stayed another night. The goodbye went a lot smoother than I thought. The dad teared up and the mom asked a million questions about Savannah. We took lots of pictures and then Andy prayed for all of us. Personally, I was a little awkward about the prayer because we did not know where they stood with Faith. Later the Dad text Andy and said something absolutely remarkable. He said, “From the first time I saw your pictures I knew God was speaking to me. I have God in my heart and know He lead you guys to us.” Wow. There He was again.
- Financially we were provided for beyond our dreams. The day we signed papers we were told the cost of the adoption was $3,500 less than we expected. We received adoption benefits from Andy’s job, someone covered our hotel expenses and we had the travel money from Savannah’s puzzle. Since we have returned home we have received another $1000 including $500 for Savannah’s first savings account. After it all is said and done we paid $16,500 out of our pocket instead of the remaining $26,000 we had expected. Not only that, but because of the gift cards to restaurants, gas and visa cards we received from friends we did not have to pay for much of our food. Can we say God was there???? OH YES!!
As I have looked back over that time, I know it is true when people say God is closest during times of trouble. But honestly, if I were to look close enough I can see Him every day – every time I look into Savannah’s eyes. This girl has touched so many lives already in her short 2.5 weeks of life. She was loved by many even before that time. She has been prayed over, for and about by hundreds of folks across the world. I am not sure what God's plans are for her, but I know one thing that is for sure; I see God in her – and I hope you can too.
****Now that we are home, people have said, “we are just giving you time to get settled” or “I hope you are not having a hard time adjusting to being home”……Please hear me when I say, PLEASE COME. Being home is the most stress-free we have been since Feb 18th!!! Yes we are adjusting to a new normal but we are adjusting well. We need people near us and we want to share our "something beautiful" with the world. Please don’t hesitate to come by!****
I can't say it enough - THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. AND I MEAN, EVERYTHING. Love you all.