I believe that God has a plan for all of us, and that His plan is perfect. I believe that God will give us everything we need to live a good life. I believe that God is good.
I am also a firm believer that God helps those who help themselves.
My philosophy on this topic is pretty well illustrated by a funny parable I once heard that has stuck with me for years. The story goes like this:
An elderly man named Mr. Jones lived in a home in the low lands by the river. One day, after a bad storm had moved through the area, neighbors pulled up to Mr. Jones's home in a truck and called out to him. "Mr. Jones, come with us. The river is rising and you will be in danger if you stay." Mr. Jones shook his head and sent them away with the comment, "I'm not worried. The Lord will save me!"
Hours later, with the water flooding the first story of his home, a boat arrived at his door and the men inside called out to him, "Mr. Jones, we've come to take you to safer ground! Please get in the boat!" Mr. Jones shook his head and sent them away with the comment, "I'm not worried. The Lord will save me!"
A few hours after the boat left, the water had risen to the second story and had forced Mr. Jones to the roof of his home. Hovering above him was a helicopter. A man leaned out from the helicopter, lowered a rescue basket and said, "Mr. Jones, we're here to rescue you! Please get in the basket!" Mr. Jones shook his head and sent them away with the comment, "I'm not worried. The Lord will save me!"
Soon the water destroyed the house, washing it away, and with it, Mr. Jones. His next conscious thought was while he was standing in front of the Lord in heaven. He looked at the Lord with confusion and said, "Lord, I thought you were going to save me! I had faith in you. What happened?"
The Lord responded, "I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want?"
Sometimes, God's intervention comes in ways that we don't expect, and it's important not to be so biased that you can't see what you aren't really looking for.
In this new era of social networking, statistics say that nearly 10% of adoption matches are made through personal networking. That means that about 20 of my agency's clients will match with an expectant mother through their own networking efforts. I don't know that our efforts will result in us being one of those 20, but I do know that if we don't make any efforts, we certainly won't be.
So we've put together profile letters, purchased business cards to leave places we visit, created a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/toniandtroy), begged people to "like" us on said Facebook page, created a YouTube page, tracked the views and hoped for comments, created a profile website (www.iheartadoption.org/users/toniandtroy) and checked our inbox several times a day.
I pray to God every night that women in unplanned pregnancies will feel the blessing of His love and comfort as they weigh their options. I pray that we will soon be blessed with a child. And I pray that He will make us worthy of the holy vocation of parenthood through His mercy and grace. And then the next day, I continue to work on our marketing plan, because maybe this technology is the vehicle God is sending us to fulfill His plan for our family.
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