Along the Jonah's Journey Way

In case anyone's wondering what is the latest along our Jonah's Journey way ...

Lasa's momma was supposed to be in rehab for all of November.  We didn't hear from her all of November after court so we assumed she had gone as planned.  Then, this week at a caseworker transfer meeting, we learned that she never went in November after all and had just arrived December 1st.  This was shocking news.  She was home all of November and did not even once attempt to contact us to see her baby.  Why?  Why would she do that?  I have no answers for that.  It just is what it is.  And now she will be gone for all of December ... if she can stay the heck put for the duration of her treatment.  And her December court date, that was rescheduled from November's failed attempt, was also itself a non-starter and has been moved to January 27th.  We will see, come the end of January, whether we move forward with custody as planned or not.  We will see what all her mother has done to get her baby back or not.  We have absolutely NO expectations.  None.  We just hold Lasa day after day, kiss her cheeks day after day, sing to her, pray over her, play with her, LOVE her day after day, month after month now, and we offer her up to the Lord, to the one whose she is no matter if she is in our home or her mother's eventually.  And that is a prospect we do truly hope for ... her return to a healthy mom.  But it is just as likely she could, in the end, stay in our home after all the waiting, reschedules, visits, and failed visits.  Who can know?  This foster life goes a day at a time and some-crazy-how we have found a place of peace in that unpredictability.  It's kind of like an eye-of-the-storm experience along this Jonah's Journey way.

This week, specifically, I found even more peace in that not-knowing-what-will-come-of-this place at a perfectly timed Jonah's Journey Christmas party.  The guest speaker, Curt Campbell, who works in a men's prison ministry called Men of Valor,

spoke such encouragement to my quivery, selfish heart and locked in the peace that I claim and profess every. single. day when people ask me if Lasa is ours for good or not.  He said, 

The outcome is not for me to say.  I go crazy with a million rabbit trails of thoughts and what ifs every time I try to surmise what it might be or how it might go.  The only issue I need concern myself with is obedience.  And right now, that is obedience to love Lasa as my own and to love her mother as my neighbor as well as I can.  To hope for her, to pray for her, to speak life to her, and to support her steps toward regaining custody of her daughter.  That is all.  And that is easy.  The rest is in the hands of God's perfectly capable, perfectly sovereign, perfectly perfect hands. That such a relief to know along this JJ way!  Such a relief to remove myself from the throne.

The speaker also strengthened the heart and resolve of every JJ family in the room with firm reminders to not. give. up.  To believe that God's word does not return void, to trust Him when He says He will not be mocked and that what we sow, we will reap, to not grow weary in doing good, to look forward to the Father saying to us one day, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."  Wow.  To remember what we are doing, while it is so much with Lasa and her momma, is really, really, really what we are doing for our King more than anything.  That is a powerful reminder.  Especially when my spirit was growing weak and restless in this mission and ministry.  The speaker reminded us also of Ephesians 6:7 and Proverbs 19:17 - He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.

And really, all his biblical encouragement mostly sent this message - John 15:5 - to cling tight to our Lord as we do this work - "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  And man, I don't wanna be going through all this foster care life for nothing.  This is work.  It is not easy.  It better be bearing some fruit, so I better be remaining in Him.  To do that, I am actively, desperately stopping my thinking about what outcomes this will lead to.  I have referred to this no less than five times this week when talking with friends and family.  The outcome of this placement is always, always what people want to ask about and share their preference for.  And it is always well-meaning.  But for me, the only outcome I wanna entertain is remaining in Him while we do this tedious hard work of loving and raising a baby that is not our own and loving her poor drug-addicted broken momma.  That is all.  And that is enough ... along this Jonah's Journey way.

But back to the precious Christmas party dinner they threw for us...

 

It really hit the emotional and spiritual spot and I am so thankful to be involved with this community of believers and caregivers.

 

 

Christy, Susan, Allyson, and the newest JJ member, Amber, all of whom manage the business end of JJ and support us in placements, at court, in training, in home visits, in baby clothes and diapers, with paperwork and everything!  Thankful for these Godly women.

 

Childcare was provided.  Crafts and dinner and games and snacks for the kiddos followed.

Oh my stars the gifts bags and gift cards that were gifted to every JJ family!

Full of goodies like all this...

Oh yeah, dinner was delish!  It was even more divine because I didn't have to make it.  Or serve it.  Or clean up after it!

I tried my first ever bread pudding.

It was so great to connect with a ton of of JJ families there that night as well.  They are mostly strangers except for how I know them from the Jonah's Journey FB page, and yet we are so quickly in real-life conversation when we gather simply by having this shared JJ experience.  I am so thankful we have that community of people to share this adventure with, to talk details with more than we can with everyone else.  These sorts of friendships really make a difference!

And that concludes the latest news for us from along the Jonah's Journey way.