Isn’t it amazing how differently our lives turn out than we had expected?
It doesn’t even matter what your initial expectations were. I don’t know anyone who can look at me and say, “Everything in my life happened exactly the way I always imagined it.”
Maybe you can say this and mean it…but you’d probably be the first.

Very little in my life has worked out the way I imagined it would.
Very, very little.
Precious little.
Practically nothing.

I never thought I would have gone to Georgia Baptist College. It was on my “God, I’ll go anywhere but these places” list.
I never thought I would marry a preacher. I didn’t want to carry that responsibility around for the rest of my life.
I never thought I would be working in a public school. My plan was always to work in a Christian school, then homeschool.
And I never, ever thought I would be 31 years old and still not be a mother.

I had my plans all laid out in a nice, neat row of how I thought they needed to go…and then God said, “Nope.”
To use an analogy for mothers (since it is Mother’s Day), it’s like you spent all this time putting toys away in organized drawers, stacks, and bins just the way you wanted them, only to turn around and see everything everywhere in a huge mess. Very frustrating, right?!
God took my nice, neat plans and made a mess of them….and I’m SO glad He did.

GBC is where I met my husband and some of my best friends to this day. I also learned invaluable lessons inside and outside the classroom.
God showed me that while being a preacher’s wife is often not an easy life, it’s a great honor to love and take care of one of His men.
Working in a public school has given me opportunities to show love to children who desperately need it. It’s also given me lots of names and faces to pray for.
Facing infertility has been the biggest mess of all. There have unfortunately been many times when I’ve entertained the thought that maybe God made a mistake or wondered what I’d done to deserve this “death sentence.”
But God has used this tragic mess in my life to show me who I am, and who He is.
He is the God who sees, even when I can’t see.
He is the God who hears, even when I have nothing but tears.
He is the God who knows, even when I have no clue what or why or how or….

Left on my own, I can take a mess and turn it into a bigger mess.
But God can take a mess, and turn it into a miracle.
And that’s just what He’s done.

He has not only changed me, He is working behind the scenes to change my situation.
Miracle #2: We’re adopting!!

Miracle #3: We found out Friday that the first big hurdle was approved with no problem. I was worried, but God was not.
Miracle #4: The cost for adoption is astronomical, and we’ve said all along that if this was God’s will, He was going to have to pay for it…and that’s just what He is doing. Just over a week ago, a church where my husband preached took up almost $9,500 to go toward our adoption expenses.
Guys, I’m still crying.

Things that are completely impossible for me are nothing to the God who makes messes, works miracles, and turns women into mothers.

This is the first Mother’s Day since before we got married that I’m looking forward to going to church.
I won’t have a smile that is forced.
I won’t have to hold my head down and endure the service.
And the thing is: even if there wasn’t the hope of adoption and my becoming a mother, I’d still be able to hold my head high.

You may have noticed I skipped the first number when counting my miracles. Let me add that now.

Miracle #1: God has made me content in my circumstances.

If that’s not a miracle, I don’t know what is.

Whatever your situation may look like on this Mother’s Day, just remember that we serve a mess-making, miracle-working, mother-creating, redeeming, faithful God….and I love Him so! ♡

Happy Mother’s Day, my friends!🌷