Learning To Wait Well...AGAIN

So, my teaser at the end of my last post will now be proven false, but I am blogging anyway. I did use the word "might" after all. :)

As you know we are waiting on a court date to travel. We thought we would have a date soon after our paperwork arrived over a month ago. Then, we for sure thought we would have one last week. We were even told we might travel REALLY soon. We thought there was a very slim chance last Friday morning would come and we would have no news. But it did, and we don't. There were some things that caused delays, and so we spent another weekend without a date.

This Monday we received an update and although we didn't get a date, I was CERTAIN I would wake up Tuesday to one. It is Wednesday now and we still do not have one.

I had a friend ask me a month ago if waiting to travel was as hard as waiting for a referral, without a doubt I said this wait was much easier. At that time we were still getting paperwork together and working on his room, so there was so much to still "do" that I had yet to feel the depth of how hard this waiting would be. I retract my statement. This wait is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Ever.

You see, I have a little boy's face that I look at many times a day. I know he needs a mommy and daddy to love on him. We are not just waiting to meet our child, but also waiting to become parents. Our whole world is about to change and yet there is nothing we can do, but wait.

This morning I was reminded of the many scriptures I have researched on waiting since we started this journey almost a year ago. I even blogged about waiting here, and here, and here. But somewhere along the way, oh I do not know, maybe when I found out who my child is and saw his picture, I lost sight of how to wait well. I have cried and complained and thrown an all out pity party.

Back in October, when we were on a completely different track with this adoption I said,

"So even in this waiting, that doesn't always make sense to me, I trust that God is at work and His timing is best. That this time is needed in order to bring Him glory. That His silence is a testament to Him hearing my prayer and working. I chose to enjoy this time and intimacy with Him."

I choose to be back in that place. To trust that God is a better Father to my son than the parents we will ever be. To know that He is working on behalf of our family and son, and that I only need to be still and trust in Him.

I am also reminded of a story my mom told me many years ago that Joyce Meyer teaches on which talks about the people of Israel traveling on a trip that took 40 years instead of 11 days - they kept going around, and around the mountain instead of making progress. I do not want to go around, and around on this waiting well mountain, I think it is time to learn for good :)

Friends, will you pray with me? Pray that this court date would come at God's timing alone and that we would glorify Him in the wait. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. 

"When led by the Spirit, the child of God must be as ready to wait as to go, as prepared to be silent as to speak." Lewis Sperry Chafer

Thank You Will Never Be Enough

It is impossible to put into words how grateful we are for all the love and support we have received over the last year. Thank you does not seem like a big enough word and the thank you notes I am about to write for the generous shower that our friends just threw seems inadequate in comparison to our gratitude.

I did not imagine this is how I would become a mother. I thought I would do it the traditional way with a pregnancy and a baby growing inside of me. That is what most people imagine I am sure. And that is what most people expect after a couple is married for a few years. But our community of family and friends has so graciously welcomed this journey God has led us down and supported us each step of the way.

Thank you to every person who has lifted up Little R and our family in your prayers, bought a t-shirt, contributed financially, donated airline miles, thrown a garage sale, listened to me cry through the process, and the list goes on and on.

Little R will be so blessed to know everyone we have in our lives - he is sure coming home to a family and friends who love him so very much.

Our dear friends threw us a shower this weekend. It was so special and Little R received so many wonderful things, but more than anything, it was such a memorable moment to have a good amount of the people who have supported this journey all together in one place.

Us at the shower

AMAZING cupcakes

Little R's Room (special thanks to my mom who helped us put it together this week)

Painting my mom made...isn't she creative?!? Nitukukunda means "we love you" in his language

The playroom gifts my family got Little R

Ceramic chair my sister, Aunt B, made him!

His new bathroom decorations from L's family

Okay so if you didn't believe me that this little boy was loved before, surely you do now, right?! :) It is so amazing to know that we will be bringing Little R home soon, hopefully, and he will have so much love surrounding him.

In Africa they say it takes a village to raise a child, it has surely taken a village to bring home Little R and we are more grateful than you will ever know. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As for an update on progress in getting a court date, let's just say I think (and hope!) my next post might just be about that :) Stay tuned...