Distressing

So, some adoptive families from our agency have been told untruths by an agency representative about their impending adoptions. I shared with my Bible study friends this morning that I am no longer confident that this adoption is going to happen at all. I've emailed the agency and gotten no response, so far, and I am not surprised by this. This is very, very distressing.

For some reason, the doxology from one of our former churches is going through my head as I type this. Here it is: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen."

And I am holding tight to this: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11 I am standing on this scripture, both for us and for Jonah Nahom.

In the midst of my worry, I am choosing to praise God. I am praising Him because He created me, my husband, my current children, and my future children. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

The truth is, the only real place for me to put my hope is in Christ, and Christ alone. This agency may fail me. The people around me will fail me. I will be disappointed over and over again during my lifetime. I will hurt the people I love. But there is hope in Christ.

Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

There's a song based on these verses and I've been thinking about it off and on throughout the day. It goes something like this:

I lift my eyes up, up to the mountains
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from you,
Maker of Heaven,
Creator of the earth.
Oh, how I need you, Lord,
You are my only hope,
You are my only prayer.
So, I will wait for you
To come and rescue me
To come and give me life.


Thanks for reading. I'm sorry for rambling. I don't really know what to think or say, so I'm just getting my thoughts on paper, so to speak. God truly does know what is going to happen and I am trusting in Him.

Nothing

For those of you who might be checking, we've heard nothing about our impending adoption of Jonah Nahom. It's very disheartening. On the positive side, there are families whose children were considered not paper-ready who now have courtdates in the next few weeks. So, there is movement, just not for us, apparently.

More Delays

We found out a few weeks ago that there is paperwork missing for Jonah Nahom's case. It's in-country paperwork, not anything we can take care of ourselves. This means that we have no idea when our case will move forward. It could be tomorrow, or we could be in this same spot one year from now.

As you can imagine, this was devastating news when we first heard it. We have grown accustomed to it now and are more committed than ever to bringing home our little guy. He is our son in our hearts, already. We will wait as long as it takes or until we are told that it is impossible to continue.

Father God, we are trusting you. We know you love Jonah Nahom and we know that you desire for him to have the love of a family. Keep him happy, safe, and secure until we can bring him home. In the strong name of Jesus, amen.

Something to Think About

Sunday, November 8th, is Orphan Sunday. November is National Adoption Month, with the 21st being National Adoption Day. What might your role be?

Still No News

I confess, I actually thought we would be assigned a courtdate last week. So much for that. We're still waiting to hear. I hate waiting.

Word Has It...

...that the Ethiopian courts are open and are planning to assign future court dates this week for those of us who were filed before court closure...yippee!!!!! How am I going to sleep any night this week?!

October 13th...

...that's the date Ethiopian courts are supposed to reopen. We haven't received a date for our case yet. This morning at church one of the pastors talked about the things that people have weighing on their hearts and minds, even though they may not talk about those things. I had a hard time holding back the tears. I don't talk about it much and I try to look at the positives in this situation, but I long for my little boy, whom I've never met. He's been at the orphanage for almost a year now. Does he think that's his permanent home? Does he get to look through the photo album we sent him months ago with pictures of us? Is he getting enough love and attention?

Dear God, please protect Jonah Nahom's little heart, mind, body, and spirit as he waits to come home. Please help him to feel loved and protected by You. Comfort him when he is hurt, lonely, and afraid. Prepare us as we wait. Help us to trust You. We know You love him more than we do. In the strong name of Jesus, amen.