Two years ago today I wrote my first blog post ("Do You Really Mean It"). It's crazy looking back to see how big of a leap it felt like to adopt...it's even crazier to think about the journey God has taken us on over these past two years and how He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams.
I've been getting questioned a lot lately about our Ethiopian adoption.
Have you heard anything?
How long is your wait?
When do you think you'll bring your child(ren) home?
How old will they be?
To sum up all the lingering questions....We don't know.
And we're okay with that!
Trust me, we are anxious and excited beyond all get out (did I really just type that?!?!?!).
We could get a phone call today, next week, next month, or 6 months down the road--so there's a continual spark of anticipation lingering around our house. There's also a little bit of fear---adding children in birth order is hard enough, but to step out and add children older or within the ages of your current family make-up is a whole new ball game.
But, we are at a place of assurance.
Here's the thing. When we started this journey two years ago, our desire was to add a baby girl to our family. We wanted Ayla to have a sister and we wanted to follow birth order and adopt a child younger than Owen. By a series of events that could ONLY be the hand of God, we were blessed to welcome Addy into our family. We followed God's call for us to adopt and He gave us the desires of our hearts.
And now, this second (yet first!) journey of adoption is bringing down a different path than what we had first desired or planned for our family.
God knew that through His perfect timing, our Ethiopian adoption would not be our first adoption as we had thought. Instead, we believe He used the gift of bringing us Addy to make us more open for the plans he has for our family.
We didn't widen our age range because we thought we may get a referral sooner....we widened our age range because our view has been widened. Through His grace and love, we've made ourselves available to whichever path He has for us.
If there is one resounding thought that keeps me grounded when I question this choice, it's this:
We're filled with assurance that we've only been given in growing closer to Him.
I've been getting questioned a lot lately about our Ethiopian adoption.
Have you heard anything?
How long is your wait?
When do you think you'll bring your child(ren) home?
How old will they be?
To sum up all the lingering questions....We don't know.
And we're okay with that!
Trust me, we are anxious and excited beyond all get out (did I really just type that?!?!?!).
We could get a phone call today, next week, next month, or 6 months down the road--so there's a continual spark of anticipation lingering around our house. There's also a little bit of fear---adding children in birth order is hard enough, but to step out and add children older or within the ages of your current family make-up is a whole new ball game.
But, we are at a place of assurance.
Here's the thing. When we started this journey two years ago, our desire was to add a baby girl to our family. We wanted Ayla to have a sister and we wanted to follow birth order and adopt a child younger than Owen. By a series of events that could ONLY be the hand of God, we were blessed to welcome Addy into our family. We followed God's call for us to adopt and He gave us the desires of our hearts.
Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.He put this journey of adoption in our life to grow our faith and bring us closer to Him. I truly believe that once we started living for Him, God knew our desire and gave us that desire because we were "taking delight in Him."
Psalm 37:4
And now, this second (yet first!) journey of adoption is bringing down a different path than what we had first desired or planned for our family.
God knew that through His perfect timing, our Ethiopian adoption would not be our first adoption as we had thought. Instead, we believe He used the gift of bringing us Addy to make us more open for the plans he has for our family.
We didn't widen our age range because we thought we may get a referral sooner....we widened our age range because our view has been widened. Through His grace and love, we've made ourselves available to whichever path He has for us.
If there is one resounding thought that keeps me grounded when I question this choice, it's this:
So, we continue to push on with patience and assurance. We are at ease knowing this journey we're on is completely in His hands. God knows the child(ren) that will be joining our family. He knows if we'll see their sweet face(s) tomorrow, next week, or next year.God will use us if we make ourselves available to Him.
We're filled with assurance that we've only been given in growing closer to Him.
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith....
Hebrews 10:22
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