Timing

It's funny how God plops themes, words, ideas into my brain that have a hard time escaping, but that's especially how he's worked with me in the 3+ years of infertility and adoption. For sure it's because I can't process the enormity of our journey all at once. So, he's given me bite-sized pieces, like a puzzle, that have transformed me and beautifully fit together piece-by-piece.

The most current piece I've been chewin on is the matter of timing. God's timing is not my timing. That's no surprise. God doesn't do things in the way or manner in which I think it would be best. At least at first. But there's been a method to his madness. [Again, stating the obvious.]

If we would've become pregnant 3 years ago, when we wanted to, when my dearest friend Jeanne announced her pregnancy, I would have been an entirely different mom. Our marriage would have been an entirely different partnership. I would've missed out on the pure, exhilarating joy of adopting Lil' A and Baby T. Really, this blog is an Ebenezer - a physical declaration - of all I would have missed out on if I would've had my way.

But there is another aspect to the "timing" issue that I've been realizing, embracing, and becoming increasingly grateful for. When we started our process 19+ months ago, we were told we'd have our baby girl [remember, we started just requesting 1 infant girl!!] home in 9-11 months. 19 months + our next 4-5 months > 9-11 months. We were excited to have her home perhaps by the end of 2009. Wow...

Here's my Bottom Line: just as a healthy, biological pregnancy takes 40 weeks to come to fruition, completion adoptions take as long as God needs them to to prepare parents, adopted children, and His people. Our village is larger and stronger now than it would've been 9 months ago. Brian and I have learned SO much about specialized [adoptive] parenting and are so much more equipped now. We have eliminated debt. We were able to make necessary improvements on our little home to make it ready for 2 kiddos. Our families have grown to nearly burst with prayers and excitement and joy for the interracial reality that will now define our family.

I've realized now more than ever that as people pray - our bio family, our church family, our near and far friends, and blog friends - our hearts grow toward a person, cause, issue. That has certainly been enormously true for us. The love that our babies will experience will be overflowing as our friends and family have pleaded with God to provide the right children to be ours and for them to come home.

I wonder if adoption also takes longer than we'd like because God's growing a heart of adoption in his people. One of my oldest and dearest friends recently shared that her and her husband have decided to adopt. YEAH! I know others who are considering adoption for the first time. Others they've been financially generous toward an adoption in new ways. Others who are praying with new fervor [watch out: that's where "it" begins!]

I just wonder if it's long and hard and challenging because God loves orphans so much and he will do whatever necessary to awaken his Church to move on their behalf? Thoughts!??!!?