Waiting to Love

I haven't been posting much on here lately because frankly, there hasn't been much to say. We still have not received any news regarding our adoption process, and sometimes it's difficult to maintain a positive attitude and keep hoping. I called Laura (our social worker) a few weeks ago, hoping that perhaps someone had looked at our portfolio since the last time I called, since we have now been "in the books" for over 4 months. But no one has requested ours yet.

Hearing that put me in a bit of a funk. I was praying for a Christmas miracle, that maybe we would be holding our baby in our arms by Christmas day, which is a mere 3 days away. But I guess that's not in God's plan for right now.

Recently, we received an adoption devotional type book from Show Hope, an adoption organization founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. As I flipped through it, I read the introduction, a few of the intial devotions and some of the fundraising ideas. And then I got to a section entitled, "Lessons from the Wait: Adoptive parents share their experiences and lessons learned from the waiting process". I was intrigued -- could there be something there that would encourage me during this dismal time of waiting? The first entry was written by David and Christine Winters, a couple who had adopted domestically. I'm going to share some of what they had to say below:

    We have two biological daughters but had considered adoption for several years. Finally, we decided to learn and earnestly pray about adopting. A year after our process had begun we received the news that a birthmother had chosen us. They weren't sure of the due date but estimated late April or early May. Of course we were waiting expectantly by mid-April.
    We waited and waited and waited. April passed into May and went on into June with no call. We began to wonder if there was a change of plan, and we became weary of always telling people we had no news. Then on June 10, a Saturday morning, we got the call, loaded the van, and left Missoula, Montana for Seattle. We drove all day, got to the hospital, walked into a room, and they handed us our son. It all happened so fast we even forgot to take our camera with us.
    The Lord stretched us to trust and wait for Him. We were constantly waiting, wondering, doubting at times, and praying. At first our family was so excited; we were guessing what day we thought we'd get the call to go get our son, Isaac. But as the weeks passed we stopped that game. We had to cancel our vacation and lose a deposit; our anniversary got no attention that year, and we made many other changes. However, it came at the Lord's perfect time. We weren't concerned about the waiting once we held our boy. Then, in the hospital, a nurse said the ultrasound had predicted a due date of June 10, the exact day of his birth, but somehow the adoption agency never knew this fact. But we know the Lord knew, and He decided we should wait. We believe the Lord prepared our hearts to love this boy in the midst of the waiting.

What a thought - that the Lord is preparing our hearts right now to love our child...even as we wait. Sometimes life is all about perspective, and there couldn't have been a better time for me to read this.

So as we celebrate our Savior's birth this weekend by giving gifts to loved ones, we will wait patiently until the Lord gives us our own little gift. And in the end we will know that during all this time, He's been preparing our hearts to love our precious child.