In May we celebrated my complete recovery from breast cancer. Surgery had been successful in removing all the cancerous cells and no chemo or radiation was required. The doctor submitted a letter to our adoption agency and we were taken off hold!! The downside was that we had to update our home study and dossier documents.
Back in March when our agency put us on hold, I did not understand what God was doing and felt very frustrated. I especially did not understand the month wait following the completion of treatment. I knew the prognosis was not going to change and felt that the paperwork should at least continue since the adoption process is so long. John 13:7 says “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” When I looked back, I came to the understanding that the waiting period was a wise and beautiful gift from God.
Psalm 23:2 - The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
I am a task oriented person. God knew what He was doing when He pushed my “stop” button and made me “lie down in green pastures.” If the adoption had continued during my treatment, I would have been busy, busy. God wanted me to be still, rest, listen and see what treasures He had for me in my time of waiting. He wanted me to pay attention not to the future, but to what He had for me in the present. I have to admit the month was a lonely time as my life came to a stop and those around me continued at their normal life pace but in the midst of loneliness were blessings. Oswald Chambers has said “Grace is for right now.” It was during these days of quiet, that I experienced His Grace and mercy. My quiet times took on new meaning in depth and intimacy. I truly found rest not only for my body but my soul.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
During this time of waiting and rest, God also spoke to me about expanding my horizons regarding our adoption parameters. He told me to trust Him with the issues one can face in adopting an older child and to trust Him in adopting a sibling group. On April 16th, He gave me a glimpse of hope as He showed me what lay around that “bend in the road.” On that day, a few days before my surgery, we had our last adoption class and met someone who was adopting a 7 year old girl from Ethiopia. The girl had been on their agency's waiting child list. (Parents can be matched up with waiting children before a home-study is finished). I mentioned to the lady that our agency has only had older boys on their waiting child list. However, I had not checked the waiting child list in a few weeks so just out of curiosity I decided to check and see when I got home that day. Sure enough, there were two precious sisters, ages 6 and 8, just waiting for us. Coincidental? I don't think so. When I first met David, I knew that he was the one I was going to marry and somehow, when I looked at these girls, I had that same feeling that these precious girls were our new daughters. The girls parents died of illness at separate times in 2010. They were living with their 86 year old grandfather and four other siblings in the Sidama region until September 2010 when they were relinquished to an orphanage for adoption.
Revelation 3:8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Isaiah 46:13 - See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
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