break my heart, part 2

Yesterday I told you that one of the places Team Sublett is collectively and forever broken is adoption and the fatherless/family-less.  We’ve adopted 4 children.  Our kids all speak of the the day they will adopt.  We are anxiously awaiting the day when we can figure out a way to get back to the Dominican Republic and the boys and girls who have shaped our hearts and opened our eyes.

Sometimes when God breaks your heart and gives you a burden it’s only for a season.  I thought I was going to be a lifer in youth ministry, but after 20 years as a youth pastor I shifted streams.  Adoption and caring for orphans is a lifelong call.

Just ask our friends Jordan and Sarah.  They adopted a sibling group of 4–that’s right 4!  They went from 0 to 4 and have thrived in the process.  And in the middle of their own adoption, they helped us get to China last year to adopt Isaac.  God has done a work in their hearts, taking them through the foster-care system to being the parents of 4 beautiful and wonderful children.  They made a huge announcement back in November when the adoptions were finalized–they’re filing their paperwork to begin the process of adopting 2 boys from Ethiopia!

When God breaks your heart for something, you stop asking, “How much do I have (must) to give?” and start asking, “How much do I have (capacity) to give?”  And what we’re learning is that our capacity to give is much greater than we ever dreamed possible.  There is joy in the giving, in the emptying of ourselves…

You should take a moment to click over to Sarah’s latest post to see just exactly how incredibly provident God is being for them right now.  It’s an amazing story, and Sarah tells it well…