This is a picture of all of the receipts I collected from mailing important papers and documents over the last few months. On September 9th we were placed on a waiting list! Hooray! As of Sept. 9th we were 91st on the girls list and as of today, Oct. 7 we are 81st! It was a very happy day to get that call last month after so many months of preparation. The kids and I were curled up on the couch watching Little House on the Prairie when we got the call (yes go ahead and make fun- I make them watch my favorite childhood show - luckily for me they like it!). The kids could tell by my words and reaction that we were finally on a waiting list. They started silently jumping up and down so I could finish my conversation. It was very exciting! Matt had to work late that night and when he got home and saw our smiling faces he knew something was up. The kids had fun telling him the good news. Two days later though we experienced a dark cloud over our happy mood as we were told that because of changes regarding Ethiopian adoptions that the wait times for a referral had significantly increased. This was very difficult for us to hear and we had to let it soak in. As I have said through this whole process God's timing is amazing because just a few days later our family had the opportunity to go see Steven Curtis Chapman and family in concert. The Chapman family are big encouragers of adoption having adopted three girls from China (one was tragically killed in 2007) and they shared a lot about adoption and their story. We loved listening to his music and their story and immediately felt encouraged knowing that even though the wait could be long, it will all be worth it. Another highlight of the night was hearing Steven Curtis Chapman sing "I Will be Here" which was the song Matt and I had sung at our wedding.
So I have been hit with a barrage of encouraging verses in the last two days and just have to share them. Matt and I are huge Glee fans and look forward to watching it every Tuesday night. We couldn't wait to watch it this week as we knew Finn found faith in grilled cheesus! The episode's focus was really on Kurt though, a non believer who was searching for something to believe in. He finally found something and sang a tribute to his dad with The Beatles song, "I Want to Hold Your Hand.'" This is one of my favorite Beatles songs and I immediately put Kurt's version on my ipod. Interestingly, the title of my devotion this morning was Hold My Hand. It talked about when Joshua took over the leadership of Israel, Moses reminded him of God's help in tough times. Deut. 31:8 Moses said, "The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not be dismayed." Then Isaiah 41:13 encourages us with these words from God: "I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'" This encourages me because I know during these uncertain times and days ahead as we wait, we can hold God's strong hand. Then the verse on my daily devotion calendar reads, "I have set the Lord before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." Psalm 16:8-9
How thankful we are to have God's hand to hold as we wait!
