Bump In The Road

A married couple who are friends of ours are adopting children from overseas.  They have been working on this process for quite some time now, and just the other week they were told to come and pick the kids up.  They were overjoyed that it was time to finally get them, so they made arrangements and eventually left.  They were reunited with the kids recently and everything was going well.  However, they have hit a speed bump.  Not all of the paperwork has been processed in a timely manner and so arrangements are having to be shuffled.  The family is weary, things are costing more than they were supposed to, and the bumps in the road seem to keep coming every day.   

This couple knows for certain that this is something God has wanted them to do.  He spoke to them separately and led both of their hearts to know for certain that this is His will for their family.  They already have two kids of their own, and yet God called them to adopt two more kids, and from overseas!  Yet, through all the happiness they have hit a bump in the road that seems to have derailed the progress indefinitely.

So, the non-believer has to be asking the following:  If this is truly something God wants them to do, why then isn’t it going smoothly?  This couple knew that God called them to add to their family with these two kids.  They have jumped over quite a number of hurdles before they even left to pick up the kids, and yet they are still having to encounter more hurdles? 

The answer to me is simple.  God never said following Him was going to be easy.  Yet nothing worth doing ever really is easy.  When this couple gets over all the bumps in this road and get the kids back to their new home they are going to be so grateful.  They will appreciate and cherish the kids even more due to all they have had to go through to be together.  Someday they will tell the kids these stories and the kids themselves will see just how much their parents love them, and how much their Heavenly Father loves them as well.  And those on the sidelines who have watched the entire process unfold will get to see the light of God in this family.

You see, this is what God does.  Often we as followers have to struggle to follow Him.  Yet, those struggles make us stronger.  They make our love for Him stronger, and it allows our light to shine even brighter to the onlookers.  It’s often the bumps in the road that truly show God working in our lives, not only to us but to the entire world.  This family will be united and back in the States in the near future.  Yes, they are going to struggle, but overall God will work this all out.  And the stories that will be told for years to come will proclaim again and again God’s great working in their lives.