Don't Miss the Journey

Well, our home study has been finalized and uploaded to CARA!!!  Now we eagerly wait for approval from CARA which is India’s Central Authority for adoption as well as the US Customs and Immigration to approve us to adopt and to bring our little fella back to the US and receive citizenship. Both of these processes take anywhere from 2-12 weeks to complete, but thankfully will be going on simultaneously.

After we receive approval from CARA, our case worker can then work to match us with a child.  She will look at the info we have given them, including a special needs form that listed what special needs we felt we could handle in our family.  Using this info, along with much prayer and leading by the Holy Spirit, she will match us with a child based on our family being a good fit for him, rather than choosing a child for our family.  The excitement of being at this stage is pretty high, but I’m trying to rein it in because of the uncertainty of how long all this will take.  Once we are matched there will be more paperwork to process before we can go to India.

My kiddos are getting more excited as well.  I’ve been keeping them updated on where we are in the process and explaining what we have left to do. This morning we were talking about it on the way to school and Tucker said, “I just want my baby brother to be here now!”  He has mentioned several times his eagerness for a “room buddy” since the girls share a room.  Watching him and the girls talk about having a little brother is so sweet.  I know it will be a big adjustment for them, but I’m so thankful that their hearts are so open to having a new family member and that they are so ready to share their love.

There has been so much God has shown us these past few months.  Things I don’t think we would have readily seen if we weren’t in this process.  It is changing the way we parent and interact with our kids already and leading us to slow down a little and see things we may have missed before.  It’s a reminder that God is walking right with us through this process and using it to refine us, not just for our new child, but for our children and life right now.  I think so many times when we start a new journey, whether it is adopting a child, building a house, or changing jobs, the end result is all we focus on.  Our eagerness to complete the journey blinds us to the journey itself and we can miss so much in the waiting.  The best advice I have received during our adoption has been to avoid focusing on the end result of bringing our child home, and be sure to see and experience what God is doing along the way as He prepares the “ground".  He isn’t just faithful to achieve what He starts, He is faithful to walk the path and change our hearts along the way.  I feel like I am becoming a better parent, wife, and Christ follower.  That He is opening my heart to new levels of compassion. That even as we face current challenges, He is showing me that He is with me and equipping me not only personally, but also by bringing other people along that can help.  I’ve never been good at asking for help.  I am very independent and hate to bother others.  So learning to ask for help has not been easy for me, although I know it is necessary.  However, through God's goodness He has been putting me in situations where I have to ask for help.  It has been rather comical at times the things I have had to ask for help with; like on the spur of the moment having to ask a friend to take our dying cat to the vet when we had an adoption appointment we couldn't miss.  Our cat survived by the way, and to his benefit has become a house cat so our dog isn't more "successful" the next time he tries to play. 

So today I leave you with a challenge to make sure you don't miss the journey.  Whatever your journey is right now, I'm sure like me you are excited and eager to get to the end result.  But I urge you to open your eyes and heart to what God wants to do along the way.  I promise He won't disappoint!

I will not leave you as orphans;

I will come to you.

-John 14:18