Lux et umbra vicissum…

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Define “Success”

August 24th, 2008 · 4 Comments

The big, multifamily yard sale at Round Hill Ruritans club was yesterday.  It was pretty big, all right.  Inside, there were nine tables set up, and outside were… a bunch.  I was inside so I only saw the outside vendors from the window.  I was just as glad I was inside… they said it was pretty hot out there. 🙂

Say I had gone into the sale, sold every single item I had brought with me, and also managed to collect thousands of dollars in donations.  Would that have been a success?

Say I had gone into the sale, not sold anything, but had caused a revival in the town by sharing my testimony and exhorting everyone to trust in God.  Would that have been a success?

So now, say I went to the sale, sold a few things and made just slightly over $100, and also made some friends and had the opportunity to share some of my testimony but without being able to see the results.  Would you consider that a success?

I guess what it comes down to for me is that I could get depressed about not selling much and not feeling like I shared my faith with many, or I could figure that I prayed before, during, and after the sale as well as having the prayers of friends and family behind me and I looked for the opportunities open to me, so I did what I could with what I was given.  That seems more like success to me.  Doing the best you can in any given situation.

But we still need a lot more money for the adoption… 🙂

Tags: Adoption

4 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Brenna // Aug 24, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    What’s the current tally?

  • 2 andi // Aug 24, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    We were able to pay for the home study ($900), and then we had enough savings to pay for the 15 passenger van (by trading the minivan in, too). At this point, all we have for the adoption that we know of is $224.38. Now that we have the van, at least we know we don’t have any major purchases… that we know of… in the near future. So we’ll be able to start setting money aside again which will pretty much all go to our adoption agency with the dossier. It’s also possible that some people have called in donations or done them online, and I wouldn’t necessarily know about them. I can ask the agency if there have been any, but I don’t want to bug them about it too often! Last I checked, none had come in yet.

  • 3 Debbie // Aug 25, 2008 at 7:51 am

    *offers hugs* You’ll get there, hon. God will provide. In the meantime, you should know that you’ve inspired at least two people. Steve and I have been talking a lot about adopting once he gets out of the Navy (another 6 years) and your experiences have been a source of much discussion for us. One of these days, we’ll all have to sit down together and talk seriously about it.

  • 4 andi // Aug 25, 2008 at 8:57 am

    You know, one of the most wonderful and encouraging things about this journey is how many people have approached us to say, “You know, we’ve been thinking about adoption…” I love being able to tell people about it and help point them in the right direction to get more specific questions answered. 🙂 I’ve even talked about maybe becoming a case manager for an adoption agency down the road.