Break Every Chain

I can hardly believe that it has been a year. It seems like yesterday that we were waiting to hear..waiting to rejoice...waiting to explode with praise...waiting to see the power that breaks every chain in the name of Jesus.

You see... until this day one year ago... Phoebe Kate was a prisoner. She was not allowed beyond the walls of the orphanage and the orphanage was no longer processing adoptions. This meant that if a biological relative did not intervene then she would grow up in an institution. Exilien (Phoebe's first father) had previously attempted to remove her but the pastor refused to relinquish her back into her father's care.  We knew that Exilien would go to the orphanage and fight yet again to remove his daughter from the prison she was in and this time we would be joining him in this fight. We believed that we were not battling flesh and blood but rulers and powers of this dark world... so we fought with him in prayer. For it would be His will and by His hands that she be released but by our faith and praise to Him that He would be glorified! We pleaded with the Lord to break the chains that bound sweet Phoebe up so tightly. My family, friends, co workers, and many others prayed for her release and stood in battle with Exilien on February 24, 2012.

Chains were indeed broken! He is so faithful, friends! Phoebe's release was a direct result of the grace and faithfulness of our Father.

Phoebe Kate & Chiwelle after their release. 

I received a phone call that afternoon from my dear friend, Chrisnet Fertilus. The first words out of his mouth, "We have the victory! God is faithful, my friend!"

God's faithfulness in Phoebe Kate's life is absolutely beautiful. From the very beginning of her days His faithfulness has been made known to everyone around her and this time was no exception. The King of the Universe whispered the vastness of His love for her through a valiant rescue!

She was no longer bound by the confines of an institution but in the care of people who the Lord would use to put her into her forever family. Every child deserves a chance at a family. After a lot of continued dialogue about what was possible for Exilien to take on and what would be best for Phoebe, a decision was made to place her into my care. I booked my ticket for the next morning and waited eagerly for my zone to board the airplane.

Phoebe was indeed free from the institution... but I knew she would be a very broken, scared, confused, and mad little girl. As much as I knew that this was what was best... for her to be in a family and to know the unconditional love of a mother... the orphanage was all she ever knew and it wasn't all that bad of a place to her. The other children were her friends, the nannies her motherly figures, the four walls her home, and the pack and play her bed. She had indeed been rescued by the King of the Universe but she did not understand that it was done out of His great love and provision for her. Instead all she experienced was intense grief and loss.

The chains broken on this day started the cascade that lead to many other chain breaking moments in our first year together as a family. Phoebe Kate's grief and loss has been turned into laughing and dancing! And although we still have many more chains to break, today... I stop... and remember... and I don't doubt for even a second that Jesus will indeed continue to prove Himself faithful in Phoebe Kate's life. I pray that today will always be a reminder to us that there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.... break every chain... break every chain.