5 Years

While I was unpacking and trying to get more settled in our new house I stumbled upon some old paintings I did years ago.

Then I saw this painting...

I remember the day I painted this.  I had never done a portrait before. They terrified me with the specific detail and proportions and they never turned out the way I hoped. But I was determined to make this work.


I had found a pamphlet about a ministry in Africa that I held on to because I was so taken by the photo of the boy on the cover.  My husband and I had a huge passion for Africa and missions and hoped to one day adopt from Ethiopia.

I felt this urge to paint the boy in the photo. I had prayed over this picture knowing it represented our dream of adopting some day. Of course I secretly doubted this dream would ever be fulfilled.

As I pulled this painting out of the garage the other day I realized that I painted this back in 2006. Exactly 5 years before Jabar came into our home. I had to smile.

When I painted this and prayed about adopting a child from Africa, God knew at that time we would adopt our little son from foster care and he would come into our family exactly five years later.

How cool is that? God is so good. I love that I have this reminder that God provides in his perfect time. God answers prayer in the most creative way. Now I have this beautiful painting, which I might add looks a lot like our son, and I remember that God provides our hearts desire.

I now have this hanging up in our son's bedroom. Jabar points up to it and says, "Mama, that is me."

Yes, yes it is. This painting is the start of a specific prayer, born from our hearts desire, that brought Jabar into our life.

Psalm 20:4

"May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed."