Here's my entry for Noonday Collection's contest to win a trip to Rwanda with Jen Hatmaker and Jennie Allen (two of my very favorite authors/bloggers!!)
You can help me:
1. Vote for me here. Every day.
2. Share with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, blog about it! Share my story, please! :)
I’m Tiffany Nardoni, a mom 8 times over. I have 3 precious
babies and a 5 year old with Jesus, 2 children to love on daily and 2 children
stuck in DR Congo. My best friend and I have been married for 10 years.
I feel like each piece of my puzzle is a story of its own,
but God has woven it together to make the now. It’s sometimes hard to see how
it all fits in the moment. Through God’s amazing grace, I can look back and see
His hand perfectly working the pieces of time together to make me, me.
I often divide my life into segments of time. After
marriage, after miscarriage, before Thao, after Thao…yet, each segment led into
the next. Each loss, each heartache, made more room for God’s work. He never
promised that easy road and honestly it’s been more than I can handle on my
own. That’s what makes it so wonderful. He gently leads, pours out peace - we
say yes.
The Lord has opened my eyes to the hurt around me. From the
women striving to care for their families, to the orphans struggling to
survive, the loss is real and I get it. Shattered dreams, glimpses of
hope…whispers of peace.
I often ask God why (but it’s more like “He can’t possibly
be asking me to…”). He does. He leads and I follow. He’s given perfect peace as
I held my Thao for his last breath. He’s shown mercy when I cry out to Him in
anger. His perfect timing led us to Congo,
orchestrated each event and pulled me out of the valleys. I often feel like
Moses, so undeserving, so ill-equipped. Yet God blessed me with this family,
this utterly amazing child for 5 years, this journey of adoption.
That’s it. Christ has placed a passion in my heart to love
others in a world of hurt. It’s not about me at all. It’s just my job to share
my story, to love without boundaries and to fight for the hurting, the
helpless, the lost.
Tiffany