A Labor of Love

This process is very stretching. Duh!

I feel so small and helpless. We are at the mercy of the Taiwanese government and their pace. However, everything is in God's control. All of our days are written in His book before one of them comes to be. He turns the king's heart like water in His hand. God ways are higher than mine. His thoughts are higher than mine. If I can just keep my mind focused on Him then I am all-right.

Child birth hurts. Adoption hurts too. It is totally different but painful none the less. I keep hanging on to what a friend encouraged me with while we were waiting to see Maren's face. She said this is your labor. This is God's prep for you to care for a baby you have never met. The act of love and bonding has already begun. By the time she is home we will have been through a lot. We are very emotionally involved.

I think some of what is so hard is the distance. It is hard to "miss out" on her developmental milestones and physical changes. And, it is hard not knowing if she is sick or well. And, it is hard not knowing if the end is a month a way or 4 more months away. It is hard not knowing if you will hit a major glitch like rejection by the judge, AIT, or some other unknown factor. You just want closure and it comes in God's timing. It is a journey of faith.

Here's how you can pray for us now:

1. Pray for us to eat God's grace in the unknowns.

2. Pray that the social worker will complete Maren's mom's home-study and the home-study with His Hands Taiwan in a timely fashion. Pray that they will write the report and submit it in a timely fashion.

3. Pray that we will have favor with the judge and that the 1st and 2nd decrees will come quickly.

If things move absolutely as quick as possible we could travel to Taiwan to get Maren in a month. If things move more slowly then it will be up to 4 more months until we travel. We have no idea.

I have been following the adoption journeys of 3 His Hands babies since the summer (July and August). None of them are home yet. All three of them are really close but they still wait. I want to be realistic in my thinking. I am praying for warp speed but trying to prepare myself emotionally for the long haul. Please pray with me.