Relentless Pursuit

One of the many things adoption has taught me is the parallel relationship between God's relentless pursuit of his children and our relentless pursuit of our babies. I've never felt God's love and pursuit over me like I have since we've started our adoption. Even though this process is so painful, long, and not what I expected, I would go to the ends of the earth for our babies. I would never give up on them. Everything we've done I would do all over again in order to provide them with LIFE. And yet that kind of love pales in comparison to the kind of love God has for us. It's a glimmer of how far his love has gone for us. He went to the cross. We've only gone through We're only going to Ethiopia.
Out of his inexplicable love for us, he's adopted us from being spiritually orphaned into his family. And I have found my forever family in his family because of his relentless pursuit.

Our Agency's Gift

This weekend we received a true, thoughtful, timely gift from our agency, Christian World Adoption. We've been working with them for the past 13 months and have only been impressed at their effectiveness, efficiency, care, integrity, and expertise in our adoption process. This gift proved it!

Brian and I sat on our bed and read the note together. Brian read it out loud. I cried. I just needed that gift and the timing was excellent.

Dear Families!
Enclosed are several gifts, hand carried back by CWA staff especially for you from recent trips to Ethiopia, because we know the waiting is long and the journey hard. Remember, the Bible is full of God's promises and every one is true. He loves you, has a plan for your life, and He is always on time.

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

With Love,
The CWA Ethiopia Team

Thank you, CWA, for going above and beyond what's necessary and caring for your families by giving what's needed! We are grateful that for you!

Waiting

My mom sent me this passage the other day. "This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long..." (an old hymn from my childhood).

"...waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy."

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."

Romans 8:25-28, The Message

Just to be clear, I feel VERY large these days thanks to nearly 3 years of waiting. :)