The latest on us

Through a lot of phone calls, our immediate family and our close friends here know that we had something exciting happen last weekend. But I thought the extended family and others who check this blog would appreciate knowing the latest info on our adoption process.

We had resigned ourselves to the fact that the two little girls would not be moving to our home. Apparently, that changed when we got the word that the social worker did not have a family in mind. In retrospect, I think this information was probably due to a misunderstanding or poor communication more than anything else. Even though we had decided to try to keep an even keel, we got really worked up by these events. We had dinner with the foster family and played with the girls on Saturday night. Then on Sunday after church, the older of the two girls spent the day with us at our home. That started off really scary for me, and I'm pretty sure I had a panic attack at church because our friends thought the look on my face was like deer in headlights!

But that afternoon was really wonderful. We had lunch together, colored, and read stories. Then she took a nap. After she woke up, we went to a park and played for a while and took a short hike to pick wildflowers. Jenetta showed herself to have "the right stuff" when it comes to being a mommy. She handled the few behavior issues very effectively. We figured out carseats and bought a stool at Target so she could reach the sink. We have a lot to learn, but we were left with a strong feeling that we can do this!

It took only a few hours for me to fall totally in love. The older sister is extroverted and fun-loving. She reminds me of Judy somewhat. She is so smart and is so excited to learn and experience new things. So we spent Monday making calls and following up to see if this could be a reality. (The girls need a new home by the 29th).

On Monday night, I went to the Hebrews class at our church. I shared with a number of my friends there about what had happened that weekend and what we were praying about to occur this week. After the fact, it is easy to see that I needed to be there that night and that the class was a "divine appointment" for me. I'll get more into that later.

On Tuesday we were crushed to hear that the social worker did indeed have a family in mind and that he was going to begin the placement process with them this week. As I am writing this, the girls are having their first full day visit at their new home somewhere in San Diego. While both of us were really sad to have things not go our way, I think I took it the hardest. I was devastated. I am still very sad about it. I think about how new and exciting Easter would be spending it with them. Every time I drive by a park, I am saddened to think about not exploring it with them. The house seems very quiet. I have kept the door to the back bedroom closed because it makes me sad to look in there.

It has been comforting for me to learn a few details about the other family. Apparently, they have been struggling with infertility for a long time and even had two foster girls in their home at one time who became unavailable for adoption and were returned to their birth parents. They are believers and teach sunday school at their church. God's "No" to us looks to be an exciting "Yes" to their prayers.

I think we have a lot to learn from this week. Here are a few of the things that are becoming more clear to us:

- We are on the right track. At some point, we will have a child or children in our home. We have a lot of love to give, and we need to share it with someone who needs a safe, stable, and nurturing home environment. We will make mistakes, but with God's help, we'll figure it out and do a good job as parents.

- God wants us to have faith in Him. The writer of Hebrews 11:39 says "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." The context of Hebrews is to encourage believers facing persecution to persevere. "God's promises are worth it! Don't give up!" he is saying to his audience. All the people in the "hall of faith" in Heb 11 believed God and trusted that He had a plan for them even when it was invisible. They died without seeing the end result of their faith. They hung in even when it was confusing or painful to do so. We are certainly not facing persecution. I spent some time this week talking with a friend who has family that is definitely being persecuted. Talk about perspective! But even in our situtation, the exhortation is the same. Trust God! He has a plan for your life even when you can't see it!

- God loves us so much. A good friend of mine was brought to tears by our story because it reminded her so much of God's love. As I described my feelings of fatherly love for the girls (even though I really only had a few hours to experience it), she could see in my eyes and my heart that my love was real. It really was a powerful illustration to her of how much God the Father loves us. It reminded her of Matthew 7:9-11.

- We need to look forward to the future. Jenetta and I have appointments with our adoption case worker this week. We each meet with her seperately for a two hour interview. Then on 4/1, she will complete our case application by checking out our home. We already passed this on the Foster Care side, so we're confident she will find everything OK.

So that's what we have experienced and are continuing to learn through this week. Thanks for checking in.