Waiting....

"Waiting is one of God's most powerful tools of grace. God doesn't just give us grace for the wait. The wait itself is a gift of grace. You see, waiting is not only about what you will receive at the end of the wait. Waiting is about what you will become as you wait." Paul David Tripp

I just saw this quote today, and had to share. If you are reading this and have experienced "waiting" for adoption, you know exactly how I am feeling. But for those of you who have not experienced the beautiful miracle of adoption, let me explain. My children are not with me, in my womb or in my care. I don't have the 9 month mark to look to. My children are "out there". I have no control over who is caring for them. I don't know if they are getting a meal today, or if they are being loved. They are OUR children, and we love them deeply already. Perhaps that is hard to understand, but for those who have adopted...you understand! I don't know how old they are or if they are male or female. I only know that they are far, far away. I only know that at some point (if not already), something will happen in their little lives that will make them orphans...for a time. I am sad for them; I am sad for their loss. I want to get them home to embrace them, love them, care for them, and help bring healing to their little hearts. They are our children. We don't know their faces, and we haven't heard their voices, but we miss them! We don't go about our days mourning, but we miss them. We enjoy our two boys, and we look forward to uniting them with their brother(s) or sister(s).
So, what do I/we do while I/we wait?
1. We pray for them as family every day!
2. I am crocheting blankets for them.
3. I am reading....reading about transracial families, adoption in general, other people's blogs who have gone to Ethiopia.
4. We are talking to others with transracial families.
5. We are talking to our boys about them often. We have always talked about adoption with them anyway.
6. We are hoping and growing and trusting the LORD to care for them!!!

When we adopted Jachin & Josiah, we learned quickly that our hope was not in Russia, not in our agency, and not in ourselves. Our hope is in Christ, who is sovereign over all things and already knew the names of our children. He still knows the names of our children...all of them!
(BTW, as I write this we have been officially waiting for 4 months. We were told that it would be 12-15 months. So, we have a ways to go yet...we think)