Holding on to Faith

I have spent quite a bit of time over the last few days thinking about the year just gone by. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but for me last year was a dismal year in so many ways. (Don't get me wrong, there were certainly some good moments, but, in my opinion, overall it was dismal.) So many things just seem to go wrong for me. I lost my job, and struggled to find a new one. Put up with a horrible part time job where my hours were constantly being cut. The pastor of our church left and then right around Christmas we find out that the youth pastor is leaving too. The church and family that I love so much is so far in debt right now that we may never recover. It certainly doesn't help when the year started off badly by us losing the baby that we were over joyed to have been blessed with.
Thankfully, 2008 is nothing but a memory now. That is beauty of a New year. I get a fresh start. David said in Psalm, "Your mercies are new every morning." For those of us that are blessed to have a relationship with Christ, we get a brand new start to each day. I can shrug off all the bad things that happened last year and start fresh this year. So, as I turn from looking at the despair of 2008, to the promises of a brighter future in 2009, I do so with faith.
Over the last couple of weeks I have come across verses filled with promises of a family. If I have learned little else in my life, I have learned that God is ALWAYS faithful to fulfill the promises that He makes to His children. This is one thing that I learned through experience. He has NEVER let me down in the past, and I know that isn't going to change this year.
Christ says to me from Scripture that if I have the faith of a mustard seed, I can tell this mountain to move into the ocean and it will happen. I don't have the desire to move any physical mountains, but I sure do have the desire to move the mountains that I see getting in the way of our having the family we have been promised. So, this year I am holding onto faith desperately with everything I have in me, and I will be about the business of moving mountains this year.
I ask that you join with us this year as we pray. We will not only be praying for the adoption each step of the way, but we are also praying for the children God has blessed us with. I am of the firm belief that it is never too early to start praying for your children. For those of you that will commit to praying with us and for us, I can promise you that God will bless you as well. On the day that we bring those kids home, you will know that you had a major role in what God has accomplished in our lives because of your prayers. Your prayers mean more to us than anything else.

Thank you,
Michael Leavitt