Letting Go

I'm not really sure where to begin this post since we have kept this information mostly to ourselves up until now. We were advised from the beginning not to become too emotionally involved and not to tell anybody until things were more certain, which I see now was a very good idea indeed. Six weeks ago we were unofficially matched with a 17 month old little girl with a special medical need and today we were told that her birth family decided that they would like to try to raise her. My heart is breaking over this little girl I never even knew, but amidst the pain there is also joy. I rejoice in the fact that she will be with her birth family because in a perfect world that is where every child belongs. I do hope that they will be able to provide the medical care that she needs. I know I need to let go of my worry over her care and put her little life in God's loving hands. 

I have no regrets about our decision to pursue this child even though we knew things were a little uncertain (although her birth family taking her back was the one thing I was very sure would not happen!). I am sincerely glad for the time God allowed us to imagine what our life would be like with her and for challenging us to step out of our comfort zone to obey Him. Our eyes and hearts have been forever opened to the needs of this world and this will not be an end for us. Now for the process of letting go our dreams of parenting this little one and all the life changes we were prepared to make in order to accommodate her needs.

Seven

I am hopeful this seventh month will be our lucky month! Never did I think that we would pass seven months on the wait list, but I already know it is going to be so worth every second of waiting. I can't wait to see that little face!

Get Involved

Ways to get involved today:

 From HIV to Home give $5 a day for 5 days starting today, World AIDS Day, each day funds a different project serving orphans living with HIV.

AHOPE an organization that cares for orphans in Ethiopia that are HIV+, through them you may sponsor a child.

Compassion International AIDS Initiative offers comprehensive services that allow them to proactively fight this widespread disease one child at a time.

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is coming up on December 1st. If you are adopting from Ethiopia, chances are that your child's life has somehow been touched by HIV/AIDS. After hearing many personal stories and reading several books about this devastating crisis in Africa I cannot ignore it. Millions are dying of a disease that is so treatable. Moms and dads are dying leaving their children behind. Children are being forced to be parents.  Parents are watching helplessly as their children die before them. I feel so small and inadequate in the face of such an enormous crisis, yet I am compelled to act.

It is so easy to just sit back, do nothing and say this is too overwhelming for me to even think about let alone to make a difference; but I believe we can make a difference, even if we only reach out and touch the life of a single person we are making a difference. For some ideas on how you can help take a look at this blog of an adoptive parent and choose one of the 5 things she mentions to get started. I highly recommend the books There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Her Country's Children by Melissa Fay Greene and  28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolan, though be warned, they may change your life. Here in the United States we have been blessed beyond belief, will you share just a little of what you have been given and take a step toward action in honor of World AIDS Day?

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
Luke 12:48

November: National Adoption Month

In honor of National Adoption Month:

6 and 30

I neglected my six month post so this is it. Six months on the wait list, not much more to say :)

Today is my 30^th birthday, ugh. I feel officially old. I have been dreading this day for a while now, mostly because I am not where I wanted to be at this time in my life. My plan was to be done having kids at 30; but, for a variety of reasons I am not yet a mother. I expected to at least have a referral by the time I turned 30. Even as I write these words I am not discouraged. I know there is something amazing and beautiful at work. When I gaze into the sweet face of our child I will know that all this waiting was meant to be. If we had done things any differently we would never have the little girl who is waiting for us. If you pray would you please lift her up in your prayers, specifically her health and the transitions in her care.

Waiting

"Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace. God doesn't just give us grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what you will become as you wait." -Paul David Tripp

I am in awe of His ways.