God's timing is often peculiar and humbling... but always perfect, right?
Just last night I wrote a post about how crazy the adoption process can be and how hard all the turns and unpredictable setbacks are. And I concluded with a nice, pat statement about how all of that stuff just makes us appreciate our children more in the end-- i.e. 'it's all good'.
Well, God tested me on that this morning. When I checked my email, there was a note from my agency stating we had finally been assigned a court date, December 16th. And, my honest reaction was immediately tears of disappointment. The sweet little picture in my mind of all six Christmas stockings on the mantel and frosting sugar cookies as we sing Christmas carols with our newly adopted children had dissolved into an impossibility in that very moment.
Based on how time lines typically go, we had expected a court date sometime before the end of November which would have us traveling sometime before/around Christmas. (and I should note here that the word 'typical' does not belong in any adoption scenario). So, at this point our timeline has been moved back 3-4 weeks. And IF we pass our court date (and that will be another post for another day because passing that date is becoming a more and more difficult feat in Ethiopia), we will travel to bring them home sometime later in January, maybe around the 20th.
But this is the roller coaster we are on right now and I think I've realized, I just need to hold on tight (to the Lord) and let the ride go where it will, trusting that some day we will have these children home. And in the spirit of 'looking on the bright side', I am opening the blog up for suggestions of:
'Things 'B' Should Do Now, While She Can, Before She Has Six Children'.
(**and please keep in mind as you make your suggestions that I do currently have a 6 and 9 year old, so ideas such as sky-diving are probably out....)
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We invite you to follow our adventure as we adopt a sibling group of four Ethiopian children.
Our Family
Our Story (and Theirs)
Our Timeline
- ~ Submitted Application to Christian World Adoption - 5/15/08
- ~ Received Referral - 6/2/08
- ~ Accepted Referral! - 6/17/08
- ~ Homestudy Submitted - 7/9/08
- ~ Re-do Dossier (New State Dpt. Regs) - 8/25/08
- ~ Dossier Authentication, CO Secretary of State - 9/22/08
- ~ Dossier authenticated at U.S. State Department and Ethiopian Embassy - 10/1/08
- ~ Dossier sent to Ethiopia - 10/7/08
- ~ Court date - 12/16/08 (Approved!)
- ~ Travel to Ethiopia to bring them home - January 2009
Ethiopia
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A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families ... Psalm 68:5,6
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families ... Psalm 68:5,6
The Face of Christ
... See you had no choice which day you would be born
Or the color of your skin, or what planet you'd be on
Would your mind be strong, would your eyes be blue or brown
Whether daddy would be rich, or if momma stuck around at all
So if you find yourself in a better place
You can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
You gotta stoop down low, look him square in the eye
And get a funny feeling, 'cause you might be dealing...
With the face of Christ...
(taken from 'The Face of Christ' from Chris Rice's 'Smell the Color 9' album)
Or the color of your skin, or what planet you'd be on
Would your mind be strong, would your eyes be blue or brown
Whether daddy would be rich, or if momma stuck around at all
So if you find yourself in a better place
You can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
You gotta stoop down low, look him square in the eye
And get a funny feeling, 'cause you might be dealing...
With the face of Christ...
(taken from 'The Face of Christ' from Chris Rice's 'Smell the Color 9' album)
4 comments:
Anything expensive, time consuming or complicated... ie. you should go to Disneyland if you haven't already.
Go out in public. Sounds bizarre but trust me you go out with two kids and no one will give you a second glance. Then, go out with 6 kids all close in age (and obviously different colors) and you will get stared at, stopped, pointed at. So far people have been gracious about our 5 kids but it's been a HUGE adjustment. It's a big jump from 2 to "oh my goodness, are they all yours?"
Go out to dinner. This is a relatively simple task when you have 2 kids. It is NOT a simple task when you need multiples high chairs plus multiple kids menus.
Go grocery shopping and enjoy the quiet - mine are 8 and almost 5 but just to have the two of them is sooo much easier then to take them and the girls out.
Do just about anything you enjoy doing as a family and really, really treasure the time. It will change and there will be days you'll wonder what you were thinking but I know in the end you'll also wonder how you lived without these 4 special people in your life.
God's timing is best. Maybe He wanted to bless you with a quiet Christmas and then a whole new life in 2009!!
E-mail if you want more suggestions: dorindanelson@comcast.net :)
I just found your blog and am inspired by your faith. We, too, were first led to adopt from China and God quickly opened our eyes and hearts to the calling of Ethiopia.
We traveled this summer on the journey of a lifetime to our daughter, Meron.
We have been home four months and are reminded daily of the love of Christ and His overwhelming love for His children.
God bless you on your journey to your four!
Laura
:) I like Dorinda's advice. It's true.
I was just going to suggest that maybe you take a couple of days to prepare some large meals, cookie dough, casseroles, etc... that you could freeze to have ready to pull out for those first few weeks when you get home.
We haven't adopted, but when we had our fourth baby this Spring, I did that, and it was so very helpful. We ate on that stuff for a couple months and there were so many times when I was just not up to cooking, and was able to pull down one of those convenient meals.
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