Questions and Answers....

Good Evening!

We just returned from a "newcomers" dinner at Church. A time where some of the oldies, meet with the newbies. It was a fun and relaxing evening filled with good laughs, some icebreaker games and of course food...Super Nacho's to be exact! (A personal favorite!)

The Laundry is finished and the week will end with some baking and even some canning. God is GOOD, you know it?

This past month, I have been asked by people I ran into, by letter/card, and even phone calls regarding our plans for adoption. It is something that I have been open talking about, and even wrote a little bit before, but with several questions that were asked, it was clear that perhaps shedding a little more light on the subject would help explain it a bit better.

In short, we feel called to adopt. However, until this point it was always something we felt like we HAD to do. Being a redemptive Lord, we have recently been realizing that it goes beyond just expanding your family. It reaches to the other people involved as well.

In 2006, we made plans to adopt from Korea, only to have plans change as soon as our homestudy was finished due to a crashing economy. In 2007 we signed up and became foster/adoptive parents only to have plans change again, but this time we had the blessing of having 5 children through our home, such sweet memories we have. In early 2010 we signed on with Catholic Charities. Once our homestudy with them was complete we were matched with a little girl the same day that I was diagnosed. BUMMER. (another change of plans) Or was it?

Sprinkled in each of these three transitions, we have had our share of private adoption situations come up and fall through, again for various circumstances....not one the same.

With hind sight being 20/20 I have come to see that it appears that our "yes" needs to be on the table, and our hearts need to be open; we need to be ready in and out of season even in this. The re-telling of this sounds like a broken record, but each time I hear it, I find another secret from the Lord. Something deeper than just what it appears to be.

HE is teaching me patience and sometimes He uses the things that will get our complete and total attention to refocus our complete and total devotion.

Through each disappointment I am learning that He has a plan and whether or not what I want comes to pass, I will choose to still love Him and trust because He is the only constant.

As I began working through this in my life, I talked to and heard from women all over the U.S. who each had a redemptive story. Some that included their own adoption stories and others that had given children up for adoption. Healing was taking place right in the middle of my own "need/want" of a family. Pretty soon I began to see a larger picture than my toilet paper roll view. Their stories encouraged me. Blessed me. Strengthened me. And humbled me.

We still plan to adopt, but more importantly I think the Lord was after our hearts motivation and readjusting our "big picture" view with one of His own. He understands adopting...He does that to each of us. He understands the ups and downs and the decisions people make on a daily basis. He alone could write a book about disappointments. And He has.

Currently we remain on a waiting list with Catholic Charities until we adopt with them or another situation arises; or perhaps the Lord calls us in a different direction. Our story doesn't make sense even to us sometimes, but it doesn't have to. We just have to be faithful. Obedient. It is what makes life interesting. A whole lot of questions, but not a lot of answers.

Life... is a wild ride.