Today's guest post is from my friend Jess Smith of the blog Get Busy Living.  Jess has an amazing story and has allowed God's joy to be prominent in her life!
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When Rob asked if I'd like to guest post, he said maybe I could write something about joy (my favorite topic) and/or my story (I'm a 30-year-old widow). I started thinking on the idea of finding joy even in death and how it all somehow relates to adoption.

Several things popped into my mind: an image of my "blog friend" Lauren when she first embraced her son Mareto at an Ethiopian orphanage...the wide-eyed excitement of my best friend Michelle and her husband Herb, when "the call" came from their adoption agency...and the thought "that must be how God felt when Isaac came home." Isaac was my husband, who went home to be with the Lord last year at 25 years old.

When Rob and Lesa met Matthew for the first time, I imagine there was much joy in that moment. And the morning when my Isaac left this world and met Jesus for the first time...the joy must have been beyond anything we can imagine here on earth.

It may seem strange that I can think of that circumstance as joyful. But, Isaac and I both put our faith in Jesus Christ and believe in the reality of eternal life in Heaven. Rob referenced John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

I love how Rob sums up this passage: "In this world filled with many trials and troubling things, God is preparing for your arrival as His adopted child. He has an incredible home for you, one where you get to be in the presence of Jesus. One of the rooms has your name on the door. He has your picture on his wall. He thinks about you every single day."

I've seen, first hand, the joy of an adoptive parent when they finally get to bring their child home. Sometimes, when I find myself feeling sad over my circumstance, I remember that joy. I think about when Michelle and Herb brought their son home and everyone who loved them couldn't wait to stop by their house to meet him. I hope that was what it was like for Isaac. I hope when he got to Heaven, God showed him his room and everyone wanted to meet him and welcome him HOME. And I hope when I get there, that my room is right next to his.

Going to get Matthew

On Monday morning I sat down at my desk and received an email letting me know that we can finally bring Matthew home from Ethiopia. The first date to get him was only 2 days away, so we chose the second which is for next week. Naturally we are all very excited, but we are also a bit frantic trying to make preparations for his arrival. This week we bought his new bed at Wal-Mart, continued working on our home addition (thanks to my friend Jeremy) and are trying to dry out the basement which flooded (thanks to my friend Irene). My wife has already placed Matthew’s picture around our home so that he will immediately feel a part of the family when he arrives. We want him to feel like he has always been here.

In all of our preparations, I could not help thinking that as God’s adopted children he is making preparations for us.

When Jesus is telling his disciples that he is going to be leaving them, they are very sad about it. Here is what he tells them to bring them some comfort (John 14:1-3 NLT):

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

So we should take heart. In this world filled with many trials and troubling things, God is preparing for your arrival as His adopted child. He has an incredible home for you, one where you get to be in the presence of Jesus. One of the rooms has your name on the door. He has your picture on his wall. He thinks about you every single day. He has wonderful things for you, and he doesn’t shop at Wal-Mart.

Have you thought about it this way?