Stand

There is some upheaval going on in the adoption world.  My heart is heavy not only for the families who are caught in the present situation, but also for the ones that will be following in the coming months.  There are so many twists and turns in the road that is international adoption and sometimes you just have to hold on tight.  We, along with a number of other families in our agency, encountered delays in our process that no one could have predicted when we started and the families that are currently in a holding pattern could not have seen this coming.  Will you join me in praying for a timely resolution to these cases so that these children can come home? 

It is hard to explain how much you can love a child that you barely know.  A family spends months staring at the face of the child who has been promised to them.  Just when they think they cannot wait another day, it is time to board a plane and meet that beloved child.  Once you have that child in your arms, the thought of leaving her behind becomes agony.  You savor the time that you are able to spend with her, all the while knowing it is quickly coming to an end.  It is hard to wrap your brain around the fact that you will actually be leaving her and getting on a plane to fly thousands of miles away.  The thing that keeps you going is the hope that you will be able to come back very soon to bring her home.  As the days turn into weeks, the wait becomes more difficult.  When weeks turn into months, it feels like torture. 

Our daughter came home just after the 3 month mark and it was probably the most challenging three months of my life.  I tried so hard to trust that God had a plan, though it made no sense to me.  My heart simply longed to be with my daughter.  It was hard to reconcile the mama's love that I know God placed within my heart for my child with the fact that we had to be separated for such a long period of time.  I was completely committed to her and, to me, it felt no different than I imagine it would have felt to have one of my other children separated from me for an indefinite amount of time.  That complete commitment is what lays a solid foundation for the adoptive parent/child relationship and, in my opinion, it is a very good thing.  And yet it is what makes the wait so unbelievably difficult.  You can't turn it off or block it out.  You must simply endure. 

I have the perspective of being on this side of my daughter's adoption process and looking ahead to what the next months hold in store as we endeavor to bring another child into our family.  I can say without a doubt that I would go through the fire again in a heartbeat to bring my daughter home.  She was worth it!  And so it shall be with the little one that God is sending our way.  We're planting our feet and we're trusting God to bring us through.

I Corinthians 6:12-13  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.