The WAIT...

So, here we are... in the dreaded "wait stage..." The truth of it is, from here on out, it's pretty much all waiting... FUN???!!!

I must admit that after sending off our dossier, I was glad for this stage to come!!! It was nice to not have to be doing so much paperwork and not have too much stress!!! The hoidays helped a ton with it too being that my mind was distracted by so many things!!

But here I am, January 21, and still no news of who our daughter is... The silly thing is, our wait really hasn't been too long compared to many others (we started the process in April and joined the referral program in September), but I've come to realize one thing... Long or short, waiting is HARD!!!

It has also been a little difficult given the fact that one of the families we started "Join the Journey" with is in China right now bringing their son home, and the other is headed there this week!! Of course we have nothing but excitement for these families, and can't wait to imagine how our trip will be through their stories and pictures!!!

So, I have to confess, these past few months I've had a little bit of a "woe is me" attitude... Have you ever been there? When you're in that place, as I was, it takes something drastic to snap out of it!!!

Thanks to some great adoption blogs, I came up with some good ideas... First thing...I had to stop reading the blogs :-(... You see, I was looking at everyone else's time table, and their story, and I needed to stop in order to not compare!!!... So, looking at other peoples adoption blogs are on hold for me until we know who she is and more information about our daughter that will be helpful to read others blogs about.

Second, I HAD to open the WORD!!! You see, in the "woe is me" attitude, I had lost sight of the fact that this life is not about me at all, but rather about HIM!!! I just needed to soak up TRUTH which is only from His Word!! I began reading a Psalm everyday for this waiting period (an idea I found on a blog)... there are 150 Psalms, and I may get through all of them before we find out who she is, but that's okay!!! I have also been committing a verse from the Psalm everyday to memory. How great it has been to meditate on these words!!

Third, I decided to DO something productive. You see, I don't know if you are like me, but when I'm a little down and thinking mostly about myself, it's no fun to eat healthy and exercise :-)...I decided to take a "Prayer Walk" everyday with the boys... What a blessing that has been!!! I will share our prayer walk story in another blog post...

Taking a walk and really committing to praying for our precious daughter wherever she is has been such a wonderful blessing and has helped me keep on pressing on!!!

So, the question I get daily, by usually at least 3 people, "When are you going to China? Do you know who your daughter is yet?" can only be answered with a simple, "I don't know..." But there is something I am sure of: We serve a God who is completely faithful, who is the sustainer of our life, and is in control of everything!!! His timing is PERFECT and I will rest knowing that He knows who she is and is preparing us for whatever the future may hold!!

As a side note and word of prayer, the next group of kids eligible for adoption comes out tonight...will our daughter be in this group? I don't know, but I do know that if I keep my eyes fixed on Him, it doesn't matter which group she is in... I will just be ready for whenever that may be!!!