God is in control!

My mind is restless but filled with praise and prayer to God. My almighty savior has covered the fear I’d been feeling. Friends, family and our life group are surrounding us with prayer, love and their availability which helps so much. So, this is the week. Wednesday brings a trip to the hospital for testing and meeting with the doctors and then Thursday morning at 6am we will arrive for surgery at Riley.
SURRENDER is not only been a theme at church recently but it is ultimately what has brought me peace about all of this. God is in control. His plan is perfect. He will watch over us and Ella and hold us close.
I think the hardest part for me about preparing for the surgery is that my flesh desperately wants to know the outcome - Now. If I only knew how this would go, would I change anything? I could plan better if I knew exactly what to expect. There is a lot of “I” in all those statements. It is not about me. It really isn’t about Ella, though the experience will be uniquely hers. It is about God. It is allowing Him to be in the driver seat. It is about trusting He is big enough to cover all. It is about surrender to God.
It is my pleasure and honor to love and raise Ella Jia. However, I do not hold the deed to her life and existence. I help shelter, protect and guide her precious little life but that is by the grace of God. She was entrusted to us by God. She is a gift from Him for us to watch over while we are together on this earth. But she IS His.
The past couple of weeks I find myself soaking Ella up. She runs with her shoulders high. She speaks new words and sentences at a rate I can’t fathom. I love hearing her voice. She wants to do everything by herself and in most cases would be capable. She is a quick learner and very cleaver. Regardless of how tired, when asked, she will announce repeatedly and with authority “Jia not tired.” When we sit down to pray at a meal she is the first to bow her head and put her hands together. She “practices” her English with me. Daily we have a session where she runs through all the new things she has learned by repeating them to me, seeking my approval. She gets so excited to go and greet Carleigh after her sister wakes. The girl is obsessed with school! That is all she wants to do and I what I hear about all day. “Ella no go to school. Colin go to school. Colin seven. Ella no seven. Ella school when seven.” She loves to sing and immediately chimes in with her own version but always to the tune. She continues to use the Chinese word for airplane. I secretly encourage and hope that an airplane is always a “fei ji” in our household.