As you have seen from our adoption journey, or from your own, or from others you know who have adopted- it can be quite a wild ride. There are highs and lows, ups and downs, bends in the road, etc. A fear I have is that the unexpected parts of our story or others might deter some from wanting to adopt- please don’t let it!
The deep joys and abundant blessings we are experiencing with Strong One FAR outweigh the challenges.
Yes, you should have eyes wide open as you begin down this road, but, don’t let the “giants in the land” keep you from going down this wonderful road.
Because of the unexpectedness found in our adoption journey, I have slowly learned to not assume as much as I used to. Due to the nature of our adoption, rights were terminated after 28 days of placement. However, as things were going so smoothy, we ran into a bump in the road.
In our state most adoptions are final within six months of placement. Although parental rights are terminated six weeks after placement (or 28 days in our case), there is a six month supervisory period for the adoptive family- just to make sure everything is going well for the child and for the family. Originally our finalization hearing was anticipated to be mid-December, but with “the bump” we were wondering if it might not be until January or February of next year.
As you can imagine, this was a bummer. I know in the scheme of things, a few months really doesn’t matter. But, our heart’s desire was to finalize before the end of this year. After so much waiting, more waiting was not desired, although we were getting somewhat used to it- if that is possible.
Our heart’s desire was for the Judge to grant us favor and a miracle- to allow our finalization hearing to be on Adoption Day in November. We knew it was a long shot, but we thought how neat it would be to have things final on such a spectacular day.
I attended our homeschool group meeting last Tuesday night and was thrilled to hear that another adoptive family had just finalized. I asked her to pray that we would be able to finalize on Adoption Day. She readily agreed and said, “God wants to give us our heart’s desires.”
It was good to hear, but to be honest, after disappointment and bumps and bends, I was a little doubtful that this would happen, but hoping just the same. Not because I don’t believe God gives good gifts and delights in blessing us, but because I have learned not to assume I will get what I want- because I am slowly learning I don’t know best, He does- and I may not often understand His ways, but He does know what He is doing and He is trustworthy even when the path turns out differently than expected.
So, yesterday our caseworker called to tell us that we can finalize on Adoption Day in November!!! So. Happy. Beaming…glowing….smiling…doing a happy dance….rejoicing….thanking and praising the Lord!
And it gets even better, our beautiful and talented friend Alyssa is going to come and photograph the whole day’s festivities. We are so honored that she and her hubby can come and capture this very special day. Since I am a budding photographer, it is especially important to me that meaningful, fabulous pictures be taken to commemorate such a grand occasion… I also want to free up myself, and many others who might try to do double-duty,; snapping photos and not really entering into the sacredness of the moment. That is why we contacted the professionals; dynamic husband and wife team, and dear friends. Oh, I am giddy!
And, a side note… Strong One is turning 6 months old very soon. It is crazy to think that half a year has already flown by.
Here he is, the handsome boy himself. He, the #10 cousin at our first annual Cousin Camp. Hubby and I had a blast having all our kids’ cousins come for an overnight (ages 10 down to 5 months). The verse we memorized together was Jeremiah 29:11,
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Deep Breaths:
1. It is tempting to hope in our circumstances instead of hoping in God. Take a few minutes and talk to God about hope and how to find it; the kind of hope that doesn’t shift with the changing seasons.
2. Take a moment and thank God for something specific today. Big or small, He delights in giving us good gifts. That doesn’t mean we always get what we want or that we get it when we want it; but He loves us and He grows us as we rely on Him.
3. Look back over the last six months. What has happened and how has it changed you? What is something you would love to see happen in the next six months? Take this to God in prayer, laying your desires before Him and trusting His response.