Great news!

I'm not even sure where to start because the last few weeks have just been so overwhelming, in a good way. If you haven't heard I'm sorry, but here is the whole story now. A few months ago we decided to start the adoption process. It was an uncertain path for us initially, but especially after reading the book, Adopted for Life, by Russell Moore, we were both convinced that is what we wanted to do. As we went through the process we got more and more excited, but we had no idea how long we'll have to wait. We thought maybe next year sometime? As it turns out we did not have to wait very long at all. Two days after we finished the screening process, we got the call. "We have a baby for you! The mother is about to go into labour any day now and she wants you to take the baby home straight away!" The social worker warned us that it could happen without much warning and there it was, as promised. Not much time to prepare at all! Off course we have been waiting for a baby for more than 3 years now and we are very easy going, so it took about 30 minutes to get the car seat ready and a bag packed. The next day I went to do shopping for some essentials that we did not have on hand, and the rest of our time was spent trying to finish off some work, going for our Vitality tests, getting our vehicle licences renewed, etc. We did not know the sex of the baby and had minimal info about the parents.


Let me just mention that this all happened right after I found out that I was pregnant. Yes, could you believe it? Somehow these two events that are both an answer to years of prayer happened all at once! For only a few minutes we did not know if it would be a wise decision to take in a baby while I'm pregnant, but our excitement and the sure call that this baby was sent to us by God really did not leave us any other option!  Whatever it takes, we would find a way to do it. It was still very early days - I had not even been for my six weeks scan yet.


That was at the start of this month. Just a week and a few hours after we learned about our mystery baby's existence, she was born in the early morning hours. As soon as we got the call we rushed off to hospital and immediately met our daughter. She was perfect and beautiful in every way. That moment was so precious and overwhelming and absolutely amazing. A healthy baby girl! The Lord answered the prayer I prayed more than 3 years ago when we so badly wanted Tabitha to get better. But in His plan and timing, Tabitha wasn't to be healed. She was not meant to stay with us. He thought it well to let us be grieved by various trials for a little while, so that our faith, more precious than gold, though tested by fire, may be found to result in the praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet 1:6-7)


What a privilege and blessing to have been able to bring our baby girl home straight from hospital. It was so special. And not something that happens too often. The Lord really answered our prayers over and above what we imagined. We called her Yadah - which is a Hebrew word which means to praise God. It suits her perfectly!


She is already over 3 weeks old and we are loving every minute with her. My pregnancy is also going very well. My 12 week scan is due next week!


Another bit of news is that Wessel accepted a job in George. Yes, we are moving closer to my parents who also live there and also closer to my older sister and her family who lives in Paarl. We are looking forward to raising kids by the sea and out of the big city, and having the support system of my parents close by. However we are very sad to leave behind so many great friends we've made over the years here in Joburg and also the church family that we've grown so close to. We will always remember our time here with fond memories of the people that loved, supported and prayed with us over some difficult years. We are so blessed to know every single one of you. And we want to thank everyone that have so faithfully prayed for us for a baby. You are very special to us. 



I hope our story does not come across as 'how to get your prayers answered' or 'how to get God to give you what you want'. I do not have a '5 points to victory' or '7 points to get your breakthrough' to share. What I can tell you is that God is not into quick fixes or recipes. He wants our hearts. He wants us to love HIM, not what we can get from Him. I truly believe that when we commit our ways to Him, we don't have to (let me recall things that have been suggested to me before) curse the devil, plead the blood, put your hand on your belly and 'speak life', confess things over your life, go to healing crusades, dig into your past to get to root of the problem/find a lie based hurt/dig up generational curses, etc. There is, after all, no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom 8:1). For the record, I did not do any of these things, because they go against what I believe to be true about the God of the Bible. My message is simply one of trusting God, no matter what the end may be, because He knows best what we need.

Psalm 31:14-15 But I trust in you, O Lord;  I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand...
Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him...

He has already given me the greatest gift of all, forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Jesus, so whatever this life may bring my way, good or bad, I know it is part of His Sovereign plan which is for my good and His glory. Its not about my happiness. Its about my obedience! That is as much as I need to 'do'. Everything I receive is by grace and not because of me. May we never become arrogant and think that God owes us anything or that we can trade off our works in return for rewards from Him.

Psalm 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.



Happy endings are nice. But its not a promise in this life. The promise of the Bible is far greater than that. The happy ending God promises for His children is permanent perfection and LIFE eternal! (Rev 21:1-5) If you are in the 'waiting period' or if your life did not turn out the way you planned, may you cling fast to that overshadowing promise! It will not disappoint! With or without earthly blessings, I still look forward to that day!


Ps. With everything going on and the move being in only 2 weeks, I really struggled to get so far to write down what was on my heart. You'll have to wait for next time for the pictures!