Never Stop Trusting Him

Psalm 37:7

Be still in the presence of the Lord, 

and wait patiently for Him to act.

I am trying so very hard to be patient....really, who is good at that?  

Let me back track for you.  First, let me assure you that our agency really doesn't have much control over our situation.  We are at the liberty of another country's government and court system.  We were told by our agency to prepare to travel back in December because they expected us to have a court date.  December came and went and we were told that we would most likely travel in January.  Obviously, we're not going anywhere.  Today, the judge announces that the Ethiopian court will be closed until February 24th for "staff meetings".  

That took the wind out of my sail.

This mama's heart wants her baby boy.  I don't know that anyone that hasn't been in this process can fully understand.  I am connected by heart to this little being that I have never rocked to sleep.  My heart aches to be the one that feeds him, holds him and sings softly in his ear.  God has written his name on our hearts.  We are ready to be a family.  Our kids pray for their "baby brother far away" daily.  They are ready for him to be here.  Just because we "want" it SO bad doesn't mean that God is going to move that way.  He longs for me to cling to Him, lean into Him and never stop trusting in Him.

Ironically, my morning devotion this morning (before hearing the news of the courts closing) reminded me that God's promises are still His promises even if He doesn't answer prayers the way we want Him to. 

Today, I am resting in His plan for our family, my heart and mind and our sweet baby boy across the world waiting for us.

Clinging to Him.
Leaning into Him.
Trusting in Him. 

Hebrews 4:14

Let us cling to Him and 

Never stop trusting in Him.

Let God Take Over....Again

"To pray is to let go 

and let God take over."

Philippians 4:6-7

There have been many areas in my life where God has taught me that I am hanging on too tight to the reigns and haven't fully given control to Him.  I am finding myself at that point with this adoption.  God is gently tapping me on the shoulder saying..."Hey, remember ME...I've got this."  Some days I need more than a tap on the shoulder...maybe more like a swift kick to the pants.  

We were blessed by a fairly quick and painless process up to this point.  Now, we've hit a minor bump in the road--cue my worry and arms reaching to grab the reigns.  Daily this week, I have had to out loud surrender this process to Him (again) and acknowledge that our little E is HIS.  Our agency really did think we would know our court date by the end of this week.  Here we sit with another week having passed and no progress in our case.

There is still much being talked about in adoption circles on the internet about what Ethiopia is deciding to do as far as "reform" the international adoption process.  Supposedly, they are going to announce the plan they've come up with in the coming days.  We do know that they are still processing adoptions at this time.

In our particular case, one of E's documents from the orphanage he was in had a signature of an official who is no longer in office.  The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) will not issue our letter until the signature is updated.  They tried to get it done this week.  It seems with all the uncertainty of things going on in Ethiopia right now, they are hesitating getting some of these things done.  

At this point, we have no idea when we'll get our court date and be able to travel.  

We are so thankful for those of you that have prayed for our family through this process.  Here are some very specific ways you can pray:

• Pray for our agency's in-country representative as he works tirelessly to get everything needed for our case (as well as others' cases)
• Pray that he will be granted soon and easily the signature we need for our case
• Pray that once the signature is done that MOWA will issue our letter and court date quickly
• Pray for our sweet E who is waiting for us
• Selfishly....pray for my sanity in the waiting (my family will thank you for that)

We are trusting God in this whole situation.  It doesn't mean that we're not human and we don't worry from time to time or get frustrated in the way things are happening.  Our hope is in Him. We know He loves our sweet E more than we do and He has a perfect plan for his life.  We know without a doubt that God has instilled this desire in our hearts long ago and He will see it through!  We pray that we will represent God well through this process.  He deserves all the honor and glory and we can't wait to see the rest of our story unfold.

"We are confident that He who began this work in us will carry it on to completion."  Philippians 1:6