220 men and women who made meals in advance and set out clothes in little piles, arranged rides to practices, said goodbye to children (pulled them off their legs in some cases), set aside life for a weekend to come together, as a couple, as a community.

Voices together in worship filled the room.

Any ice that was there, any walls that we built to safeguard our hearts were broken down.

Truth with a capital T was shared–not truth about adoption though there was some talk about all that, but truth about who we are, what on Earth we are doing, and how to actually follow the One who called us in the first place.

Over only a few days, connections were made that only He could make. One woman sent me these words before we had even left the hotel:

There simply are no words. We haven’t brought our daughter home yet, so we didn’t even know if we belonged at this retreat. We could not have been more blessed….God reaffirmed our calling and reassured us in so many ways this weekend.

For the third time, we went home feeling like we literally saw God move.

What happened this past weekend–all the connections, all the laughs, all the conversations of encouragement, all the challenges to open up our eyes to the unseen, all the weary people who were able to be served a meal without needing to cut up someone’s food and sit by a cozy fireplace and talk to new and old friends–it was God ordained. Yeah, we get excited about it every year. And, as exhausting as it is for us to put on, we are filled with joy doing it and are blessed abundantly when we do. But, we don’t do it for that. We do it because this is what God has put before us and invited us to be a part of.

We do it because together we are called to it.

In case you didn’t notice, it snowed on Thursday. What I mean by that is that snowmagedden hit Philly Thursday and pretty much everywhere surrounding it. I so wisely was proactive and changed my Thursday afternoon flight for the red eye at 6am so that I could get out before the snow made it impossible. By Wednesday afternoon, the red eye was cancelled, then the afternoon flight was cancelled. Weighing the options, I decided to go ahead and get a ticket for the red eye on Friday. I’d miss Thursday night, but at least I’d get to Atlanta by 8:30am Friday. And, then Thursday night as I was finishing packing, my Friday flight got cancelled because the plane didn’t make it there. I frantically called the airline where I was told there were no seats to Atlanta out of Philly, Newark, or Baltimore until Saturday night. All the remaining flights were already overbooked from all the changes and cancellations. Then, I cried a little…which led to Ashlyn texting me this from after the girls went to bed.

Oh, that girl. For her sake, I hope she outgrows that squeak. For my sake, I hope she never does.

The only option left was to go ahead to the airport and wait to see if someone didn’t show up for one of the other flights to Atlanta. So, I woke at 2am, left the house by 3am, got to the airport by 4am, then waited. One flight left for Atlanta full. There were two more morning flights that were overbooked already.

I prayed.

Lord, I only want what you want. If you need me at home this weekend, if Helen needs me home this weekend, then make it clear that I need to be home. But, if you want me to serve you and be served by you in Atlanta this weekend instead, make a way where it looks like there is no way this morning. Three tries, then home I’ll go.

Then, I heard my name horribly mispronounced but recognizable over the loud speaker. There was a seat on the flight to Chicago that I was being offered where I could then try to get a standby ticket to Atlanta. What? Seriously? Chicago? She told me there was no way I’d get from Philly to Atlanta but that I’d have a better chance out of Chicago. But, there were no guarantees when. And, I needed to decide right now. The doors were closing. Fine, I’ll do it. I had just finished praying when I had heard my name. I had to try. It was almost as if God Himself had called my name at that exact time (though He said it right). As she entered my name into the system, she looked confused and told me to shush as I tried to ask what was going on. As she was entering my name for the flight to Chicago, the next available flight to Atlanta out of Chicago that was also overbooked suddenly showed one seat available. And, I got it.

Late I was. But, I made it. And, blessed I was–teaching from a speaker clearly gifted by God to communicate His truth and promises, red carpet treatment, so many sweet conversations with other mamas, hugs from a mama adopting one of my sweet little friends in the orphanage where we serve, hugs from a mama whose son is a boy I advocated for, a meal shared with two teammates from the next orphanage trip who I’d never met in person, and late night giggles and conversations with girlfriends I treasure (and wish I could force to move closer).

God made a way for me to get there and had something special for me there, allowing me to pause from trying so hard to do and simply allow Him to do for me through the words and service of others.

The perfect beginning–the perfect truth to learn–as March Madness begins.