Our Precious Surprise from the Lord

Disclaimer: 
The story we’re about to tell is bittersweet.
There is pain, heartache and brokenness.  
Yet, because of God’s great mercy and abundant grace,
 there will be healing, restoration and continual evidence of His faithfulness.

We thank you, ahead of time, for praying for all of us in this journey.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4

*********

Isn’t it a beautiful moment when God gently surprises us?

When, literally, life changes overnight?

I don’t know how many of you remember, but way back in November 2005,
the Lord gave me a prophetic word:

“Linny, the best years of your life are ahead of you.

It was so right-on…since I had been whispering to the Lord for months that
I felt like my best years were behind me.  I
 had been secretly grieving growing old.
And in an instant, that powerful word from Him revived me.

It was so clearly Him, because, although He had heard my cries,
He was the only one who had heard my groanings,
“I feel like the best years of my life are behind me.”

When He spoke the exact words I had been moaning for weeks in my
confiding time with Him, I knew that I knew that I knew that I knew
 it was a promise I could “take to the bank”.

And after He spoke that prophetic word to me, immediately I responded,
“Well that must mean that there will be more treasures
because that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Since that prophetic word, we had added five kiddos.

Isaiah
Elizabeth
Elijah
Jubilee
and
Ruby

Now that Ruby is home and thriving,
I have been whispering a few new things to the Lord.
And soon, I will share some of that, but for now,
I will keep this rather vague, for several reasons.

Anyway, two days after returning from our 6,200+ mile road trip,
Dw and I went to grab some coffee and talk.
In a few days we would be leaving for Colorado for Autumn and Karl’s wedding,
we just really needed to catch up.

So there we were snuggled up on one side of the booth at
the Paradise Bakery near our home,
when a text message buzzed in.

It was from Emma.

It contained 29 words alerting us to a need she had just heard of.
A painful situation to be sure.

A little one who had been brought home internationally a few months prior,
was needing to be “resettled” in another family.

I read the text aloud to Dw.

He turned to me and quietly responded,

“Maybe we could help.”

My heart leapt.

Over the next few days, we inquired if we were needed in any way.

We even asked if we could do some respite while the family
spent some time regrouping.
{That was not an option.}

As it turns out there have been many God-appointments in this journey.
Privacy warrants we protect all involved.

But I can assure you of this:
We have been so thankful for the Lord’s clear direction and quiet reassurance.

The day after returning from Autumn’s wedding we met this little treasure.

I asked the Lord to show me the second I saw him in person.
As he walked through our front door, my eyes welled with tears.

I knew.

He was ours.

Tucked away by Almighty God for our family.

We are convinced {as is the adoptive family who brought him home}
that the Lord used them to bring him ‘home’ to the States,
because ultimately His plan for him was to be with our family.
{And of course, they will always love him very much.}

Just a week ago today I tweeted,

“Enormous situation ahead. 
Changes imminent. 
Prayers for wisdom, peace, and grace needed now.”

{*thank you to all who pray when I tweet,
it makes such a difference to my heart to know so many
of you were praying*}

That tweet was sent when we were going to get our new son and the agency would officially
transfer him to our care.  So, believe it or not, he has already been home for a week.

Disruption in adoption is a painful thing for all.
Some of you have been involved on one end or the other in a disruption.
There is no judgment here.
Promise.
God promises to use all things to work together for good.
No.Matter.What.

Our new son is slowly adjusting to life in our family.

He is also grieving {which is a good thing}.
We need him to grieve.

The kids have welcomed him with open arms.
Every one of them is thrilled to have a new brother.  

We are so thankful that the
Lord brought the need to Emma’s attention, which prompted a series of
 events that led to him coming home forever.

For those who knew it was a #12…you were right!
although who would have guessed that he would already be home for a week?

A beautiful surprise from the Lord!!!

We are updating our home study and before long all the legalities
will be completed.

Pictures and all other information will be coming soon.

But for now, please pray for our little guy’s heart as he adjusts to so many changes.
He is not really speaking English yet and we’re really not sure how much he understands.

We are convinced that as much as he needed us, 
we, too, needed him.

I can’t wait for his picture to be up on the header for the whole world to see.
Rejoice with us – the Saunders Family has another son
and we couldn’t be more over-joyed!

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans, even daily, by sending people across our path with their…requests.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

81 thoughts on “Our Precious Surprise from the Lord

  1. Congratulations!! I can't wait to see pictures of this "treasure"!!! GOD does work in the most amazing ways, and HIS ways are never wrong! Praying for all of you!

  2. How wonderful! Makes me want to sing.

    Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
    Let the earth hear His voice!
    Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
    Let the people rejoice!
    O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
    And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

  3. Oh, my goodness! Now I have to come BACK to AZ, to meet this little guy! Can you share the country he is from? I have been praying…couldn't imagine what "huge" thing it was…Linny…while his redemption IS huge, you bringing him home is NOT…that is your heart, that is what the Saunders family does! And I love you for it!!!

    Hugs from Nancy & ShaoXi

  4. WOOHOOOOO!!! The very BEST kind of surprises are from the Lord, aren't they!!
    Praying for you all, sweet friend 🙂 Can't wait to see the precious face of the newest member of your beautiful family!!!

  5. congratulations sweet linny friend!! 🙂 so excited for your family and your new precious one! you now have what my heart most longs for and desires – a family with 12 (in the US) children! :}

    i cannot even begin to imagine the pain and grieving involved with an adoption interruption and feel only compassion for both this little guy and this other family. i will be praying for everyone involved.

    …and i can't wait to see his picture!! 🙂

  6. so excited for you linny! i just know that God loves to bless His children!!! is it okay if i ask about SG and the process of bringing her home? love you,

    tara

  7. Congratulations!!!!! I was so happy when I saw the dozen eggs and quickly went up to your header to count 11! Cant wait to see his photo, I am sure he is just adorable! continuing to pray for you all, and now for him! xoxoxoxo

  8. SO amazing! I am so happy for him and your family. God chose a wonderful family to place him in. I will continue to pray for him, for peace, comfort, and a heart level knowledge that he is deeply loved.

  9. Joel and I are thrilled for you all and praising God for blessing you with another son. Ordained by God to be a part of your family. Continuing to pray.

  10. A strange observation w/ no proven statistics, but sometimes it seems some kids need a transitional family. I have seen some really successful adoptions come from disruptions. We'll keep everyone in our prayers; they must be very sad. You all, on the other hand, have really been needing more boys! God will work in all of this.

  11. Congratulations on your new son! Praying for you, your family, and especially your new son as he makes the transition to your family. Praying also for the family that made it possible for him to come home to his forever family.

  12. So excited to see a picture of #12. Wondering if he is from Ukraine or Russia. Don't mean to make this about me, but I'm struggling with comparing myself to you. Why can't I handle more kids like Linny? As I type this, I know my thinking is all screwed up. I know God doesn't call us to compare to others. Don't even know why I'm typing this really. Love to your family. Love that God had us meet in China 5 yrs ago.

  13. We adopted our oldest daughter through a disrupted adoption. So grateful to our God who brought our suprise baby literally right to our front door. Can't wait to see your little guy's photo!

  14. I am stunned! Just the most recent of any number of times I've been left speechless by your blog! 😉 Incredible! SOOO excited for you guys – and can't wait to meet your newest treasure! Will definitely be praying that the Lord will bind up his sweet, broken heart and minister to him as only He can.

  15. Wow- I love the Lord's ways!
    Congratulations to all of you and I am praying for your new son and for his adjustment.

    I love your heart! You are such a wonderful Mom!!

  16. Oh Dw and Linn, I am in tears. I cannot even begin to imagine how hard this journey has been for this poor sweet boy. There is no doubt in my mind that, in your home, he will find the love and encouragement he needs to become a mighty man of valor. I will be praying for this time – that God will open ways of communication and make the legal process a breeze. I can't wait to see his pic!!!

  17. Oh Linny,

    So thankful the Lord has brought number twelve to you!!! So glad I was catching up on your blog as I hadn't been on for over a week and didn't have to let you hold me in suspense! I usually visit daily or several times a week.

    Our first Foster daughter will be adopted by the end of the year!!! Wednesday we will find out if 2 more will be added to our family…. I am hoping FOREVER!!! Our Bio kids are 2 girls and a boy and it looks like the Lord might bless us with a repeat!!!! So excited he is answering my long awaited prayers to adopt and has completey open my husbands heart to saying yes….bring it on!!! And praise the Lord for blessing us over and above what I dreamed of for years!

  18. I just love the way you handle every situation, with such care and compassion and just loving without judging. You know that God has got to be so thrilled about that. I know that you get this all the time, but Im going to say again anyway. You and your family are a true inspiration of what Godly love really is and should always be. Congratulations on your new son,brother and uncle ; )

  19. That's awesome, Linny, I love this what you quoted:

    God promises to use all things to work together for good.

    amen, amen, amen! 🙂

    Praying for wisdom and discernment for you all to say or do things to heal the little one's heart. And also healing for the family who had to give him up. That they will have His peace that His hand is in all this. It must not be easy. I understand now what you mean by needing praying and memorial box monday stories!

    (((hugs)))

  20. Congratulations to you all!! I can't wait to hear more about your little boy! What a blessing for you! I will keep you, him and the rest of your gang in my prayers. No doubt there is a lot of adjustment. I couldn't be happier for you Linny! You have twelve kids!!!!!!! Not to mention your kids in Uganda! Mom of many is right. 🙂

  21. Standing in awe of your amazing story. Love watching God at work in my life and all around me. Congratulations on the Saunders dozen. Praying now for your little man, that he will quickly feel the love in your family and know he is safe at HOME! All my love!

  22. Just so delighted for you <3
    We know the Lord will comfort him as he grieves and will give you wisdom in how to carry him through all this.
    God is so good!!!!!!!!!!
    Love you all xx

  23. Crying a lot here right now.

    Wishing you all well on this transition. WOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God is an awesome God.

    I know you aren't sharing details but…we've got gender. Can we get his age?

  24. Congratulations on the homecoming of your son! Although the transition phase is the most painful — just as in physically birthing a child — it will pass. As you said, his grieving is necessary. He'll then be healthy and strong among you and, most importantly, loved & cherished forever!

  25. Congratulations! That is beyond amazing. . .I did guess # 12, but never would have imagined the already with you part! I will pray that as he settles into your family his little heart mends. God certainly works in amazing ways. . .

  26. Oh Yippee Jesus! so thankful for your open arms and hearts to welcome another treasure! God bless Your Family! Praying for your boys heart to heal! Janet

  27. Bless everyone's heart involved!! Can't wait to see what God does with this precious one and how He will bring peace to the family who brought him to you.

  28. Hi there,
    I couldn't find where to email you but wanted to write for a few reasons.
    First of all, I'm always left happy and encouraged from reading your blog. 🙂 Your children are beautiful!!!

    Secondly, My husband and I have 2 small children (biological) ages 3 1/2 and 1. We've always talked about adopting, and China has been in our heart for many reasons. We are a 1 income family, we live simply, on a very tight budget. So I'm not sure how we'd afford it. I read this post you wrote "I Would If We Had the Money….." and was so encouraged by it! I can't wait to share with my husband. Thank you so much!
    Do you have any advice to give us as we look further into the process? I don't even know where to begin. But I'm super excited and at peace b/c I know God will provide and open up all the doors for us to get our 3rd child. 🙂 If you have some time to give me some wisdom/advice, I'd SO appreciate it! Thanks!
    vivianearegina@hotmail.com

  29. How wonderful for your family and for this new addition to your family. I pray his heart will mend and he will be open to all the love your family will provide him. It sure sounds like the best years are here and alive for you!!!!

  30. I cannot begin to tell you how extremely excited I am for you and your family!! I love that Christ continues to grant you the desires of your heart!!! It blesses my heart also as hubby and I discussed for the first time today, the possibility of adopting sweet littles from disrupted adoption situations. God is sooooo faithful!!

  31. Hum…not sure if my first comment posted or not:) I am soooo very excited about your new addition!!! I love how Christ continues to bless you with the desires of your heart!! I pray that God will heal the hurt places and exchange beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that he might be called a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord…!!!

    I am also blessed by your example as hubby and I just spoke for the first time today about adopting littles from disrupted situations after our current adoption is completed:)

  32. WOW LINNY!!! We have been with out internet for the last 3 days… and today as I was driving home, I thought…. I can't wait to hear what is going on… for sure by now Linny has posted the story! LOVE IT!!! We are rejoicing with you on this precious new addition… Can't wait to see a picture when that time comes… We will be praying that he adjusts well, goes through all the feelings that he should and needs to go through and that he sees the great love you already have for him. Praying for you all! So much of what you spoke of in the beginning of the post spoke directly to my heart… I may have to email you about it sometime soon… We start school tomorrow so it should be a crazy few days… but maybe after that… Praying in earnest for you all! Praising God for His goodness in bringing you all together in this miraculous way with your new son! He is good!!! Love to you all!

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