Faith Like Noah - An Adoption Update

Thursday, December 4, 2014

It's been such a long time since I've done an adoption update, but the Lord spoke so clearly to me this morning that I'm just too excited not to share.

But first, let me just kick this off by letting you know that we are still just waiting. 

Yup. 
Just waiting. Still.

Well, waiting and writing checks. 
(But we knew the latter came along with the territory for international adoption.)

For those of you keeping track we are now at 4 years of waiting.
Four years ago this month we were accepted into the Ethiopia program with American World Adoption and almost 43 months ago (who's counting?!) we finish our (first) dossier (i.e. enormous paperwork packet).

This morning I was enjoying a sweet quiet time with the Lord. He's burdened me lately to pray for a variety of things in my life and all week I've been enjoying fellowship and intimacy with Him. I found myself journalling after reading my Advent book and just chatting with the Lord about a variety of subjects. I started thinking about how many journal entries I've done concerning our adoptions and I began to feel anxious. 

I wondered if we would ever actually see that tiny light that's been flickering at the end of this tunnel. Is our daughter really out there somewhere or is this just a lesson in following You, Lord? And even more that that I admitted to Him that I concerns hidden in my heart. Our boys can be a lot to handle. They are awesome little people but it's hard being a parent. I sometimes wonder if RJ and I are equipped for another child? Do I have what it takes to mother three? Does my husband have the patience? Do I have the patience, understanding, wisdom, stamina, etc? 

I layer these burdens at the Lord's feet this morning and asked him for a just a glimmer of hope. Hope and reassurance that this journey is from Him and the He is still in control. And that He is in it along side us. 

Now let me back up for just a moment. About a year ago I felt incredibly discouraged with our timeline. You might remember that we initially thought the entire adoption process would take us 12-18 months, so when we hit the 36 month mark without a glimmer of hope that we would see our daughter anytime soon I really doubted our calling. Praying through that doubt and frustration the Lord reminded me of Noah (There was like 4-5 things that He pressed upon me in a 2 day period that all were about Noah. It was clearly from Him.) Noah is in the Hall of Fame for Faith. Most of us know his story and we can all agree that the dude had insane faith. God told him to build an ark and so he did. When Noah put that first nail into that first board he didn't know the end result. He didn't know about the 40 days and nights, the long wait for land, the dove, and rainbow. All he knew was that God said build an ark - so he started building. Waiting, expectantly, for God to reveal the rest.

All this past year I've been encouraged by Noah. Noah's example has been my guide. So this morning when I was praying and journalling I once again thought of Noah and reminded myself to keep the faith. 

Normally I don't run after journalling because I need to feed the kids and keep order in our home but today I abandoned my usual routine and yelled to RJ that I was stepping out for a quick 20 minute run. I ran for 18 minutes and then turned up a side street for the quick sprint home. The moment I headed up the street towards our house I noticed the most insane rainbow I've probably ever seen. It was a huge, vibrant, completely intact arc. And from my vantage point it looked as if it literally sprouted out of our roof

I stopped in the middle of the road and just started laughing. 
God is so awesome.
He gave me a rainbow this morning.
I am convinced that He created it just for me. 


And so we continue to wait: joyfully, expectantly, and faithfully.

(BTW - are are really, really close to finally getting our referral. Please pray for our family that we would be prepared of the next step and that the paperwork and such would go smoothly. Thank you!)

1 comment:

Ryan and Camille said...

I have been wondering about this for a while! I'm so glad you shared. I will keep it in our prayers and know we are constantly thinking of your journey....love you guys!

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