Gaze Upon Jesus: The Flight to Egypt and Courage (Chapter Five)

In 2006, my husband and I began to feel a nudge in our hearts to pursue adoption. Although I had difficult pregnancies and suffered two losses, our desire to adopt was not a matter of infertility but a calling to serve God. We begin to pray about where to search for our daughter. We were open to anything but I secretly hoped it would not involve travel. Especially, far away travel, say to a place like China.

As the old Yiddish proverb says, “we plan God laughs.” As it turns out, China is exactly where God sent this anxiety-ridden woman to met her new child. This woman, who once swore she would never, ever fly on an airplane, now realized her yes to this mission from God meant boarding an airplane, not once, but seven times.

God did not just call me to this beautiful plan to expanding our family, but also provided the necessary strength and courage to follow through. God provided all the grace I needed to continue even though the very thought of what we were about to do produced panic attacks. God’s grace did not remove my fears but strengthened me to move forward in spite of them.

The root of word courage is the Latin “cor” which means “heart.” The heart is the core of the soul, it is where our emotions are stirred. Courage, also known as fortitude, enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death [you know, like from fiery plane crashes], and to face trials (Catechism, 1808, brackets added).

“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). I have no doubt God put the desire to adopt on my heart and when it came time to fulfill that beautiful desire, he then also sent me all the courage needed to accomplish it.

What desire has the Lord placed upon your heart?

Are you willing to entrust yourself to his unfathomable love and grace to receive it?

Allison Gingras is the founder of ReconciledToYou.com – where she shares the beauty of the Catholic Faith with honesty, laughter, and relatable examples from the everyday, ordinary life! She has created the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (Gracewatch.Media/Connected) which includes her first book, The Gift of Invitation: 7 Ways Jesus Invites Us into a Life of Grace. Allison hosts A Seeking Heart with Allison Gingras on BreadboxMedia.com Allison is a Social Media Consultant for Kennedy Brownrigg Group and Online Book Club Specialist with WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.