Reflections, strolls down memory lane, souvenirs, and mementos...all help us remember the big and small moments in our lives. We are in a decluttering, organizing, purging, and nesting mode preparing to usher out 2010 and welcome in the endless possibilities 2011 will bring and the addition of the newest member of our family: Sarah. I've begun cleaning out the spare bedroom and envisioning how we'll decorate it soon.
Andy, too, is in that mode. He was organizing the receipts for the year, a different stroll down memory lane. Grocery, Target, and quick meal receipts are given a quick toss. Others are sentimental, like our vacations and family outings. He came upon a receipt dated July 24th, which doesn't ring a bell until I began going back to our Red Thread story.
The kids were at my sister's for the weekend, so we went to a nice restaurant for dinner, and were going to watch a rental at home. Alas, our DVD broke and we played cards instead. It was this night we began the initial conversation of adoption and Reece's Rainbow. It was this night, I shared with him the heaviness of my heart for orphans.
When he showed me the receipt from THAT dinner, he asked me to pay close attention to the server's name:
SARAH. Can you believe it?!!!!! And spelled exactly like we will spell her name!!!
Flabbergasted, chills, astonishment are only a few adjectives to describe this moment we shared. Coincidence, I think not. Divine intervention, absolutely!! Only God could have put these footprints in place. July 24th, neither Andy nor I could have known whether we truly would walk this path. July 24th, neither he nor I could have known we would adopt a little girl. July 24th, neither he nor I could have known we would name her Sarah, our little princess. But, God did. July 24th was the day, we began walking this adoption journey together.
Whenever I begin to get impatient with our state, another footprint is drawn in our path reminding me of what truly matters...
Shelly,
ReplyDeleteI have loved following your blog and journey to Sarah! My youngest is still @ Pinney and we live across the street from the Peele's. I was so honored to be asked to write a referral letter for Alina's adoption. There's a neat book, When God Winks, by SQuire Rushnell. Your receipt is an awesome example of a "God Wink"!