To What Then Have We Been Called . . .

So, if you look at the timing of our adoption, it would seem to be we got the short end of the stick.  Based on years of past practice, our little guy should have been home by Spring Break.  We have friends through adoption that were about three weeks ahead of us in the fall; they have had their kiddos home for 4 months.  We were literally requesting our Embassy appointment when the announcement came down--this is going to take longer.

Through the last three months, we have learned what longer means. 

It means the Embassy is doing everything it can to ensure, when we walk our little guy out of that orphanage to bring him home, he is truly an orphan.  And that is important. 

It also means other mishaps can happen in the wait.  In a place like the DRC, restructuring is common. Illness and strife are common. For the Congolese, waiting is a way of life.  They take it with beauty and stride.  But, for an American working in the Congo, it brings stress and uncertainty to which we are not accustomed. 

Finally, it means this whole thing could fail.  As we wait, as the Embassy investigates, we may hear that we can't bring JP home.  Lots of factors--health, national stability, family dynamics--could come into play that affect our ability to adopt, issues I never would have thought would happen to us last September when we first saw his picture.

There has been a great deal of discussion about adoption ethics over the past few months.  As I go through the emotions of the uncertainty in the midst of this discussion, I must constantly check my heart.  Despite all of the chatter, the thing that touched me the most was a comment to a recent blog post that said, "Maybe you weren't called to the adoption destination but to the adoption journey."

At this point, we desperately want to the destination to arrive.  But, I cannot express what we have learned in the past year.  And, I don't want to miss what the adoption journey--frustration, excitement, and possibly even grief--has taught me about myself, my marriage, and my God. Not to mention the gift I have been given to see Africa in a real and heartbreaking and awe-inspiring way.

He does not call us to use our wisdom, might or money to make all things new.  He does that.  He just calls us to be obedient in the moment and to meet Him in the Journey. 

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord."  Jeremiah 9:23-24

Blessings to each of you as you travel . . . may you find His steadfast love in the journey.