Never. Forget.

As I sit snuggled in my favorite Alabama sweatshirt, a hot cup of creamer with a bit of coffee, my pup curled up beside me, the sunlight bringing the Cooper Cottage to life while also exposing a bit of dust in quite a few places, missing my hubby while he is away at work and counting down the hours until he comes through the door, I am quite distracted by a picture of a beautiful baby boy with big eyes and a sweet, sweet, sweet smile. As I look at his picture while surrounded by “stones of remembrance” throughout our “Peace Place”, I hear the sweet Spirit of my God say to my soul, “Never forget”. 

Never forget.  

Never forget those dark days full of questions, doubts, fear, anxiety, brokenness, loneliness, shame, guilt, jealousy, anger. Never forget how words said to you, though unintentional, still hurt. Never forget the lies that were believed. Never forget the tears and the 2:00 A.M. voices in your head. Never forget. 

But… REMEMBER.

My Heavenly Father was and remains WITH ME. He is sovereign over ALL things. His ways are greater. He works ALL things for my good and for His glory. He sees me and intimately pursues me. He is able and always faithful. He is my peace, the Giver of grace. He is my hope and my ultimate and only answer. He is where I find complete fulfillment and ultimate JOY. 

REMEMBER… Because His Spirit lives within me. Because His love never fails. And because His Word is alive.

REMEMBER… 

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers[a] in harmony with God’s own will.” Romans 8:26-27

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” Proverbs 31:25

“The Lord is my strength and my shield.” Psalm 28:7

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26

“Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.” Philippians 4:6-8

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“You are beautiful for you are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14

“Be strong. Be Brave. Be fearless. You are never alone.” Joshua 1:9

“Mightier than the waves of the sea is His love for you.” Psalm 93:4

“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” Esther 4:14

“And in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” Colossians 2:10

“Declare over yourself: ‘God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.’” 2 Timothy 1:7

“For I know the plans I have for you.” Jeremiah 29:11

“The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.” Song of Solomon 4:7   

As I glance back over to the picture of our "gift of grace", our beautiful baby boy with his big, dark eyes smiling back at me, I am humbled how God has used his little life to already teach me so much about Him and His heart. ONLY. OUR. GOD. can take our sorrow and turn it into a song - a song of gratitude for what He has done as a result of the darkest of days.  

We continue on this incredible, messy, scary, beautiful journey of adoption each day singing our song… OUT. LOUD… along with “our village” - a tribe of over 500 people from 28 different states and 5 countries! THANK YOU to everyone who has had a part in bringing our little loves home. MUCH progress has been made in a very short amount of time, and we are daily checking things off of the list and are looking forward to the countdown to Colombia... then, Haiti! You are SO loved, little Valentines! 

Never. Forget. 

But… Remember.

Respond... in gratitude and worship. 

Then, join with others on their journey and together, sing OUT LOUD the songs that were written in the secret places of sorrow or shame by a God that restores, rescues and redeems.

"...that's what love does. It pursues blindly, unflinchingly and without end." - Love Does

Worship in Waiting:
"We Dance" Bethel
"Priceless" For King and Country

Our "Red Sea Road"

"Sweet Morgan, stop asking God for babies and start thanking Him for your babies. It is done. He has heard your prayers, and He will answer them. "... Words from a beautiful soul, advice given to me from a dear family member right after my PawPaw went to be with Jesus. This was just about three weeks ago now, friends. My PawPaw was one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He was not just a good man, but a Godly man. I thought my daddy said it best when boldly speaking at my PawPaw's funeral. He said, "Man of God" is the description given to a man who follows God in every way, who obeys His commands with joy, who does not live for the things of this life, but for the things of eternity, who willingly serves His God in giving freely of all the resources, yet gladly suffers as a consequence of his faith. Perhaps Micah 6:8 sums up the "Man of God" in one verse, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." After days of watching the reality of eternity unfold right before my eyes, feeling the presence of God so intensely and realizing more than ever the importance of loving and serving those around you well, my drive back to Memphis was a sweet time of gratitude and worship that also resulted in a phone call from our social worker right as I pulled into our driveway. 

Her words. Goodness... Every. Single. One. I couldn't believe what she was saying. After praying for babies for almost six years now, honestly, it seems that we have somehow settled into the "weight of the wait". The conversation resulted in a variety of conflicting emotions. Emotions that we thought we had experienced before, but nope, friends, not like this. These emotions from deep, deep, deep within resulted in only two words able to be spoken over and over again: THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 

Because... ONLY. OUR. GOD.

We are beyond excited and humbled to announce that we are officially in a concurrent international adoption process with HAITI and COLOMBIA! While waiting on an official referral from Haiti, we are also pursuing with MUCH urgency a little guy in Colombia. Because of his special needs, this process has the potential to move very quickly. Much progress has already been made in just the past few weeks, and we are needing our village to come together in order to get this little guy home before eventually heading to Haiti to meet his brother or sister. We are truly humbled and honored to have the privilege of stewarding these sweet souls, that they may experience the glory and unconditional love of our Heavenly Father who knit them together, fearfully and wonderfully. He has always known them and sees them even now. He is sovereign over their little lives as He orchestrates all things for their good and His glory. 

Sweet babies, You were wished for, longed for, prayed for and wanted. And as Paul loved the church of Corinth as his very own children, 2 Corinthians 12:15 says, "I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you." You, our little loves, are our JOY in this journey. 

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask of think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20

You have chosen to join us on this journey and because of that, we continue to be truly grateful and humbled by the love and support shown for our little family. Your continued prayers are most appreciated as we desire nothing more than for God to be glorified through this journey. Please be in prayer for the following:

- Our preparation for parenting

- Our kiddo's spiritual, physical, and emotional health 

- For those in Haiti and Colombia caring for our kiddos

- God's provision. We are taking a huge step of faith, knowing that our God is able. Please prayerfully consider helping support us financially. You can make a donation by going to https://www.gofundme.com/cooperadoptionfund or https://www.purecharity.com/cooper-babies-adoption-fund in order for your gift to be tax deductible. 

"We will sing to our souls. We won't bury our hope. Where He leads us to go, there's a Red Sea Road. When we can't see the way, He will part the waves. And we'll never walk alone down this Red Sea Road." 

Worship in Waiting:  

"Red Sea Road" Ellie Holcomb
"Wonderfully Made" Ellie Holcomb