"In the waiting" seemed to be a fitting title for the current mini-chapter of our adoption. Dave and I continue to wait for our psychological report and I-171H. In the meantime, I will be making a trip to get the remainder of our documents apostilled by the state (sometime in this coming week).
God has provided many reminders of how He is using this 'waiting' in our lives and the lives of our family. I have especially appreciated the reminder of what comes in the 'waiting' through Scripture. This adoption process has brought Dave and I closer. It has been fun to share hopes and dreams, anticipate what the future will bring, and discuss the name of our son or daughter.
We have had a handful of questions on how we intend to handle the 'name' of a son or daughter, and decided that we would like to bless our child with a name but would also like to retain the name that they received from their biological parents. Both mark a history that we would like to preserve for them. We see a name as a blessing and look forward to having our son/daugther carry forward a blessing from their biological parents and ourselves. We also look forward to being able to share that with them.
What to pray for...as mentioned before, we currently continue to await two documents that would give us the ability to move forward with our adoption. Please pray that this final wait would be speedy.
Please also pray for our son or daugther as they are in Colombia...pray for their caretakers and the many hands/hearts needed to care for all the children in need of permanent families within Colombia. Pray especially for their physical/emotional/cognitive/spiritual development despite the unique challenges they face.
It occurred to us the other day that our son or daugther is either born already or in the process of being born! Oh my! Please pray for their biological parents during this time. I can only imagine how difficult it is to make an adoption plan. Pray for comfort during grief and loss that come with making this plan. Pray also for protection during this time...the burden that a decision like this would bring...not just now, but for the remainder of these biological parent's life as they pass yearly birthdays and holidays that remind them of a son or daughter growing up somewhere else in the world. Pray that the biological parents would receive a sense of peace and hope in the decision that they are making. Pray also that blessing would also come from this decision.
On a completely different note, I completed my first marathon this weekend! This was an incredibly long walk, and I was glad to have a college friend, Brooke, to do it with me! During the marathon, I found myself contemplating the adoption process and how progress always seems to be made, as in the marathon, although their are different parts of the journey that are slower and more difficult at times. I was reminded of the wait and the outcome of the waiting....reminded to focus on the process while also fixing my eyes on the outcome.
Sunday was an absolutely georgeous day to do the marathon. Temps were in the 30's when we started around 6:30 in the morning. In fact, there was frost on the window of the car! The tempurature never got above 60 degrees, although it felt warmer given the sun and how fast we were walking! I must also say that the marathon culture is a pretty fun group of people to hang out with! Despite being overweight and a newcomer to the scene, I felt as though I had been a part of this community for a long time. Folks were amazingly welcoming and encouraging...walkers were encouraged as runners passed later in the morning. It was just a great day!
Dave came to join us on two portions of our walk...once around the 16 mile mark and then again around mile 24-26.2! I was never so greatful for his presence, support, care, and encouragment...especially at the end...and following the walk when I thought my legs were going to fall off! It is pretty incredible what the body can do if you get past what the mind is saying! All told, Brooke and I walked away with a blister on each of our left feet...I am thinking that this is from walking on the sloping side of the road all day. I drank more Gatorade and water in one day than I have in all my days of playing sports! (Ok, maybe this is a pretty big stretch...but we did consume a ton of fluids.) And I have officially decided that they have to come up with a better source of nutrition for marathon runners/walkers than "Gu"...this stuff is like extra, extra thick cough syrup and it tastes just like it! Yuck! In defense of its makers, it really does do the trick when you need it!
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