Daniel 6:27

"He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." Daniel 6:27, NIV

That verse was brought to my mind a few weeks ago in church, to share with our congregation as I knew there were a lot of people going through hard things. At the time, I didn't need any signs or wonders....

Last night I spoke with Jacob's father, and lets just say that the conversation didn't go well! Among other things, he informed me that he was filing papers to get him for 2 nights every other weekend (he currently gets him for 24 hours every other weekend). Now, for those of you who don't know - David is not a bad guy. He really does care about Jacob, and he doesn't engage in any kind of behavior that would give me grounds to say "you are bad for my son". However, he was not a consistent part of Jacob's life until Jake was 5 years old, so Jacob doesn't really like the whole situation. (He has told us on many occasions that he wishes "Daddy" could adopt him, so he didn't have to go with Dave every other weekend. But Dave will not sign off on Jacob.)

I explained to David why I didn't think that was best for Jacob (just like I always do), and asked him to consider it from Jacob's perspective. Yes, the whole situation stinks and as adults both Dave and I are dealing with consequences of a decision we made, but it is WRONG to allow those consequences to fall on Jacob's shoulders. Todd and I have been noticing that Jacob's "abnormal" behaviors peak in the few days after a weekend with Dave, and are nearly gone about a week after he has seen Dave. But Dave was adamant that Jacob needs to be his family more and he was going to file the papers and he didn't care if I got a lawyer.

So, I was pretty angry when I hung up the phone. Angry that my son was being put in a position that is not good for him. Angry that this "father" cares more for his own feelings than his son's. Angry that this man who has frequently lied to me (and never been lied to by me) refuses to take me at my word where our son's well being is involved.

As you can guess, I found it hard to sleep with all of this weighing so heavily on my heart. While I was laying there feeling helpless and frustrated, I started to talk to God about it. Really, I started to plead with God to intercede on my son's behalf - to fight for Jacob where I cannot. I discussed with God the battle that has waged in my mind over how free will and God's intervention relate to each other. (I understand that sin and suffering are results of free will, and I believe that God is able to intervene in any given situation, but if he was always stepping in, then how free is our free will?) And as I poured my heart out to the Father, he brought Daniel 6:27 back to my mind. I was able to confidently look at other people's problems and tell them that God will accomplish that which he has begun, and then it occurred to me that God is able, and yes - even willing to work miracles for me.

This afternoon, Dave called again. It was like talking to a completely different person. He said he kept thinking about it, and he really wants what is best for Jacob. He does want to hear it from Jacob's own mouth, but he is willing to consider that always pushing for more might not be best. I suggested that we sit down with a counselor to mediate, and let Jacob meet with the counselor separately, and he said that was a good idea. We may be able to see resolution with out taking it to court!!!!

So please pray that God's will may be done and that Jacob will be protected through all of this. My own prayer is that Dave will sign Jacob over to Todd and allow Jacob to decide when he wants to go see David - we would never stand in the way of it if it was what Jacob wanted to do.