Adoption

​Sometimes the hardest thing to do in the world is wait.  Especially in our culture, we hate to wait for anything.  We have high speed internet and fast food restaurants.  My husband and I even invested in an EZPass to shave down a few minutes on travelling.  We live in such a time-oriented culture, it has created a great dislike in us for waiting.

​Back in 2010 my husband and I spent 5 months in Haiti serving as short-term missionaries.  Haitians are never in a hurry for anything.  I learned a different view of patience when I lived there.  I was dealing with a lot of culture shock our first few months and I was an emotional wreck most days, but I wouldn’t trade my time there or the life-lessons I learned for anything.  It was in Haiti that the Lord planted the desire for adoption in my husband’s heart.  Fast forward 5 years, and we have a son through adoption.  It was a long difficult wait, but we are so grateful for all the Lord taught us in that time.

​​Adoption has us in a different place of waiting right now.  Our son is living in our home and knows us as his momma and daddy, but technically… legally… he still isn’t ours.  Meaning, his adoption is not yet final.  When his adoption becomes final, we will have a court hearing where we will receive his new birth certificate.  This birth certificate will have my name and Mitch’s name where mother and father are indicated.  His original birth certificate will be void, just a record piece for the court.

The court has 90 days from receiving our paperwork until the hearing.  They don’t technically need 90 days, but they have it.  So, naturally, things are usually left to the last minute.  (For living in such a fast-paced “go go go” culture, we sure do tend to procrastinate as often as possible).   It seems like every 80 days or so, our paperwork makes it to the clerk’s desk, and they find some sort of mistake, send it back, and we have to resubmit amended papers.  This just happened again last week.  

​Surprisingly, I am finding this sort of waiting less difficult.  I am learning to say, “The Lord has His purpose in our waiting… I will wait.”  Once his adoption is final we will be able to travel to Canada and let Emmanuel meet my husband’s side of the family, which will be wonderful, but until then, we will wait.  God is still sovereign and He has not forgotten us.
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I look forward to the day that all the paperwork, lawyers, and court are behind us as far as Emmanuel is concerned.  But, until that day comes, I will wait patiently, believing that the Lord has this in His control.