I'm not assuming that lots of people checkout my blog, but since the purpose of it is to inform friends and family on our adoption journey I wanted to share where we are currently at, and what's coming up...one word...ready....WAITING.
I sometimes liken this journey to pregnancy:) The first trimester of adoption is paperwork-and boy did it make me sick and tired! The second trimester of adoption is more pleasant at first..just waiting..everything is out of your control and for awhile you're so glad you're not doing paperwork anymore that it's a sigh of relief. Then you get the ultrasound and get to see your baby for the first time! That's like the referral of adoption. When you're finally matched with your child and you see pictures. This is definately the highlight of the second trimester! The third trimester of adoption-traveling and more waiting and throw in some paperwork again! The third trimester is just crammed with growing pains and you're big and uncomfortable and there's not too much that can be done for ya!
I've long since given up in hoping in given time frames, but just for an estimate they give us 18-24 more months until we are matched up with our daughter (a referral). This could always change for the shorter or the longer. There's lots going on in an international adoption. There's a lot going on in our adoptive country of Ethiopia right now too-orphanage closures, cases being investigated time and again, courts closing for rainy season, the branch of govt. that handles adoptions is slowing down the number of cases they process etc.
So that puts us in a hard position of waiting. If you've never had to wait on the Lord to fulfill a promise to you, or wait on His timing in your life-it's h.a.r.d. Just to share a little bit personally, I've been discouraged about the daunting wait in front of us. How could God ask us to wait so long for something that His heart is obviously for?!? Then I'm brought back to surrender and humility. God is most interested in my sanctification. This process is maybe just as much about our becoming more Christ-like as it is about adopting an orphan into our family. A sweet friend asked me this week how people could help encourage us during this time. (not many people around here doing what we're doing and so it's new to all of us:) I'm not totally sure about my answer, but I do enjoy talking about our adoption, and making fun but small preparations for her. I have to pace myself with such a wait in front of me, and too much too soon isn't going to be healthy for me. An example of a really encouraging time was this past sunday when a sweet african american friend gave me some hair books to practice with and we just laughed and talked awhile about how this white girl needed all the help she could get, and she told me she could be on my speed dial for hair 911! :) I will continue to update our monthly number on the waitlist, but it may get hard for me to just focus on a number. So maybe instead of asking me what number we are, ask me if I'm looking to Christ and surrendering to His perfect timing!
As hard as waiting can be, waiting is also very purposeful. This article I read really hit home with the purposes he gives for waiting on God. I encourage you to read it if you're in a season of waiting too.
God's Will For Your Wait
