Tyson vs. Holyfield

I remember watching the fight with some friends of mine. Mike Tyson continuing his comeback tour and Evander Holyfield looking to dominate the once-dominant Tyson. Long story short, Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield (twice!) and Holyfield was declared the winner. The ringside reporter interviewed Holyfield while still in the ring and he asked how he felt about the fight, his performance, Tyson's antics, etc. Holyfield's answers were basically thanking God for the opportunity to face Tyson, thanking God for his boxing ability, thanking God for allowing him to win, etc.

One of my buddies turned to everybody and said that he respected Holyfield's faith and admired his boldness to share it on such a huge stage, but he paid to watch the guy fight, not evangelize and talk about nothing but God. I agreed with him.

Now I find myself doing the same thing Holyfield did that night. It may seem like all we talk about in this blog is how much God has blessed us in the midst of this challenge, but that's because that's exactly what's happening. When people ask me how this process is going, I find myself telling them it's crazy...and that God has provided abundantly. As hard as this is (believe me, it's extremely difficult, for me at least) and as many things as my flesh wants to complain about, I can find at least 2 things to be thankful for for every one complaint.

It hit me square in the face a couple days ago. I was doing laundry when I started folding the kids' clothes. I realized that I hadn't picked out a single piece of clothing. I also realized that Denielle did very little shopping for clothes for them. That meant that the vast majority of the clothes I was folding were given to us by someone. Then I went out to pick up the toys and realized that most of those were also given to us or were purchased with gift cards that were given to us. Next, I went into their room to pick up a little and saw the same thing: clothes, books, toys, and linens that were purchased with gift cards.

God is truly amazing. The people at our church are amazing when they let the God of the Universe affect them. I just keep thinking that we are in such a great position to be blessed by God because we've stepped completely out of our comfort zone and way over our heads. Every day we make it through without traumatizing these kids is a day in which His glory is shown through this situation. Our family and friends have been a huge part of this process and we can't thank you enough. If you've prayed for us, thank you. If you've asked us how we're doing, thank you. If you've babysat for us, thank you. If you've purchased a gift card or other items, thank you. If you've given us toys/clothing/books your kids don't need any more, thank you.

We could not take care of these kids without your support and God's provisions. Hopefully this experience has been rewarding for you to be a part of as well, whether through reading this blog or living it first-hand with us. Please continue to pray for us and the kids.