Seasoned

Today I heard Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Spring Is Coming" for the first time...how it blessed me!
He and his wife lost a 5 year old little girl in a tragic accident.  During some hard grieving he penned this song.

Listen for yourself.

(Scroll all the way to the very bottom of blog to turn off playlist.)

Lydia would pluck a bunch of weeds and carry them around like a wedding bouquet.
The girl loved flowers.

Her little heart bloomed with words and art that expressed her desire....

 And this winter her brother did this to express his love for Lydia...

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Her short life bursted forth with love for God and others.

Burying her sweet frame deep in the cold earth has been the hardest thing I've done thus far.

The winter season exemplifies the bitter cold grief of a broken momma-heart.

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven

Ecclesiastes 3:1

The summer Lydia's health started deteriorating the fire of the trial burned hard on our nest.

Our little flower died in the fall.  It felt as though our world was falling apart.  All we knew to do was fall on our knees before Him.

 Then winter came, the season of intense grieving...

feeling buried under the heavy blanket of sadness and resting in Him alone.

All this time Jesus has been (and still is) working in the unseen chambers of my heart.

Perhaps the fracturing of my heart gives access to the depths of His love?  

Could it be that by the tear river I've cried He has watered the desert of my soul?  

Perhaps these fractures in my heart allow the Sonlight to penetrate unreached places?  

Oh, how I want the seed of His Word to fall on the soil of my heart and bloom a sweet flower that yields the unique fragrance of Him!

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth,

do you not perceive it?

I will make a way 

in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

Photo taken by Julie Faith Johnson

Quietness Broken ~ Ponderings Revealed

Yes,

It's been quite a while since I took the time to sit and jot my thoughts into the blog-o-sphere.


Here's a glimpse of what's been happening with the byrds in this nest...

Thanksgiving

Trick or Treating

Christmas

New Year's

Luke attempted to stay awake to welcome in 2013.

Celebrating their sister's birthday

Valentine's Day

       

.......Thanksgiving......Christmas....... Lydia's birthday........Valentine's Day.......
have all passed and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet joy the Lord gifted during these times.  I find my thoughts of her days bring a smile quicker than a tear.  My memory is flooded with the many ways the Lord used her life.

Her days were not wasted, nor were any stolen from her.  

Trusting in His Sovereign will for her life (and her momma's), 

means nothing happened that wasn't suppose to happen.  

Being rooted in this truth bears the sweet fruit of peace.  

I do not wish her to be back here with me; 

that would be contrary to His will.

She is HOME.

I'm still a pilgrim trodding this earthly soil.
And while I'm here, I want Him to continue to apply His truth to the pages of my days.

So teach us to number our days, 
That we may present to You 
a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

Looking back at what has happened in the past, what He has done,

 fortifies my trust in Him.

Looking forward to what He promises in Eternity through Jesus

 gives me hope.

Living in this moment, in light of the past and the future, 

gives me courage and strength.

There are reasons my heart has been silent on this blog.  

Many ponderings I wasn't quite ready to share.   




But, here goes....

A Brief Sharing of Our Hearts...

Since the beginning of our courtship and marriage Willie and I  have often conversed and dreamed of one day adopting.  We view children as God's blessings and consider it a privilege to love and teach them the most important life lesson ~ God's love for them and His provision for eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Lydia's life and death is a catalyst that has put our dream of adopting into action.  

Recognizing life is short, our days are numbered 

and we should embrace our calling to love "the least of these" 

and "live out true religion ~ 

taking care of the widows and the orphans".

Our hearts yearn to see our family grow through the adoption process.

God adopted us into His family through the sacrifice of His Son.
He poured His love into our hearts and we desire to pour out His love into the lives of children.

We have experienced the joy and honor of being the parents to biological children;
we yearn to experience the unique path of adding to our family through adoption.

We've never done this before.  

It's unchartered territory for us.  

It's scary.

We actually started filling out paper work February of last year, but I got cold feet and wasn't ready to step onto this path.  My tender, grieving heart wasn't ready for the rough road of adoption.  Wondering, if as grieving parents would we be rejected and looked at as "broken" and unsuitable?

It's been a year and God continues to bring adoption to our minds and hearts.  My heart is healing, though there will always be a scar.  Perhaps my understanding and experience of grief will be a blessing for an orphaned child who has experienced the loss of family.  I pray so.  Willie and I are so eager to provide Home and Family and Love to a little one.

It's time.

Willie and I will soon be submitting our application and hopefully be starting the home study process that begins this adoption journey.

I am so thankful that Lydia is Home, in her forever home with her Heavenly Father.

I am thankful the Lord allowed us to be her "home" during her earthly days.

There are children on earth who do not have a home, who do not have a family, who do not have love.

My heart breaks for them.

We covet your prayers for guidance and direction from our Heavenly Father
as we take the first step (which feels like a giant leap!),
onto this new and unknown path of adoption.