An Open Heaven

 Tonight I'm missing some kids I haven't ever met. And I'm thinking about a God so big that He hung that moon and painted that sunset and knit every single one of us together in our mother's womb. And I'm so grateful that He orchestrates every detail of our daily lives and that He knew that people on opposite sides of the globe would be on converging paths in this very moment. And He prepared our hearts and penned our individual stories, then brought the narratives together into one.

Last week, I joined an adoptive Filipino parent Facebook group. I posted a question about the transition from the Filipino educational system to American public schools. I gave very scant details about our situation, just that a sibling group of three was on hold for us and that the oldest was close to aging out so we were moving really quickly on the paperwork. The next day, someone commented on that post and told me to check my "other messages" folder in Facebook (which I always forget exists).  This is the message I had:

"Hello and welcome to the adoption group! Are you adopting the 3 from (orphanage name)? I run an orphanage here in the Philippines and if those are your kids, you're going to be blessed like crazy! I met them when they were new to (orphanage name) after the (event that led to their placement there). (Oldest boy) openly shared their family story with me in English. They stole my heart. I wanted to let you know that I have prayed for you even though I didn't know it was you. I will continue to do so and I look forward to following the rest of your journey to your children!"

I guess I've always known how big God is but I don't know that I have ever seen it played out so personally like this before. To think that all of these people, from other Filipino adoptive parents to orphanage workers to local Sunday School classes and beyond, were praying for them to find a family and God was, in the meantime, teaching me how to wait well and simultaneously moving in Kraig's heart, then to bring it all together at the exact same time..... WOW.

I have trusted and known and walked with Jesus as long as I can remember. I came to a faith in Him when I was just 8 years old and I don't even remember a time when I wasn't aware of His presence in my life. But I am waking every day to a flooding of new glory. Every day another God-touched moment happens, whether through a donation on our adoption site from a high school classmate I haven't talked to in 20 years or a realization that people we know personally have been praying specifically for these kids to find a home.  Our pastor describes it as walking under an open heaven, often in the context of financial blessing. While we are certainly experiencing financial blessing (and hope to continue!), I am learning that walking under an open heaven is so much more broad than I had imagined. It's walking in as close communion with God as possible as an earthly being. It's the fallen world, human version of the Garden of Eden. And it's something I will absolutely never forget.