I was trying to wait to share news until we were more certain that we actually had news... but then I just thought... "what the hay"... plus I've been thinking a lot about hope and what it really means to hope and, gosh... sometimes hope is really hard!
Last Wednesday I woke up and something happened... a fire grew in me... I will call it the great Mama fire. Something hit me and I thought... ENOUGH! We've got to do something!! All of the sudden I was ready to call a lawyer, go to Ethiopia, bust through those court doors, whatever... I was hurt and confused and I had hit my limit... I was mad! I emailed our consultant and asked a series of questions and made demands and tried really hard not to direct my anger towards her...
The timing of the "mom fire" became quite humorous when our consultant emailed us back informing us that the judge had fixed our decree. "umm... oh ok." ha!
So this is really exciting news right? But for some reason, we hesitated to celebrate. It probably had something to do with the emotions of the day, or the fact that the email read "it appears that the judge has fixed your documents", but it was mostly the fact that cynicism had crept in... YUCK! Week after week of hoping only to hear nothing new will wear you down. It will make you feel foolish. It will crush your sprit and then you will decide to be cynical instead. Will you pray that we can dare to hope again?
HOPE LIST:
that our agency will collect and translate our documents so that they can be submitted this week
that the US Embassy will accept our case this time
that our case doesn't have to go to Nairobi
that even if it does go to Nairobi it wont be a huge setback
that we will get to reunite with Arthur before his first birthday
that we will get to have Christmas with Arthur
Last Wednesday I woke up and something happened... a fire grew in me... I will call it the great Mama fire. Something hit me and I thought... ENOUGH! We've got to do something!! All of the sudden I was ready to call a lawyer, go to Ethiopia, bust through those court doors, whatever... I was hurt and confused and I had hit my limit... I was mad! I emailed our consultant and asked a series of questions and made demands and tried really hard not to direct my anger towards her...
The timing of the "mom fire" became quite humorous when our consultant emailed us back informing us that the judge had fixed our decree. "umm... oh ok." ha!
So this is really exciting news right? But for some reason, we hesitated to celebrate. It probably had something to do with the emotions of the day, or the fact that the email read "it appears that the judge has fixed your documents", but it was mostly the fact that cynicism had crept in... YUCK! Week after week of hoping only to hear nothing new will wear you down. It will make you feel foolish. It will crush your sprit and then you will decide to be cynical instead. Will you pray that we can dare to hope again?
HOPE LIST:
that our agency will collect and translate our documents so that they can be submitted this week
that the US Embassy will accept our case this time
that our case doesn't have to go to Nairobi
that even if it does go to Nairobi it wont be a huge setback
that we will get to reunite with Arthur before his first birthday
that we will get to have Christmas with Arthur
Praying all these things for you, hoping so hard that you will be united with Arthur soon. Zinashi remembers waiting for us to come for her, and she gets so sad when we talk about kids that are waiting for their parents to come get them. I'm sure she will want to pray all these things for Arthur, too.
ReplyDeleteYes ma'am. On it. Prayed yesterday for you and for another friend that your paperwork would be passed over and approved soon. Can't wait to see pics of you guys back in ET>
ReplyDeleteI say yes to all this hope! Been praying so boldly for you!
ReplyDeleteHooray that you got the corrected court decree! Praying for a quick embassy process for you!
ReplyDeletethere is a prayer in a little book of women's prayers that I love that goes like this: "Oh Heart of Love, I place all my trust in You. I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Your goodness." I love your hope list. I am praying with you and hoping with you, knowing that our hope is rooted in His goodness. There is no foolishness in trusting in the goodness of our Good Lord. :) Love you!
ReplyDeleteFound your blog through ohdeedoh's post of Arthur's room. My husband and I are currently 3 months into waiting for referral, adopting from Russia. The experiences and feelings that you share give us such encouragement and such a fresh and real perspective on this sometimes insane journey. My heart breaks for you that you've had a delay returning to Ethiopia to bring Arthur home. We are sending up many prayers for you!! So glad to hear the court decree was corrected, now for a swift embassy process!
ReplyDeletePraying for you friend. Praying for all our little ones who are waiting.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I am praying for you, Aaron, and Arthur! Praying He WILL be home by Christmas, believing by the blood of the Lamb and I know He is working for the good of this whole situation.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, my student now wants us to drive to KC so she can meet you (do you feel famous?!?!?). She faithfully is following your blog, has read every post and knows ALL your details. She's praying like crazy! Her HEART is Africa and I think she is in complete awe of you!
love that you are so honest. need prayers? done. i am a believer that all things happen for a reason. and it sounds like had you not gone thru all this a 'mommas fire' wouldn't have made the appearance and now you can call upon it in the future when arthur's gonna need that sort of resolve to protect and nurture him. all this is sculpting you two to practice so many wonderful attributes and honing your already present skills. it's helping you know how strong you both really are and to know yourselves so well that when arthur comes soon you can focus on him because you already know who you are and what you are capable of. some parents never figure that out before having their kids. knowing your own selves is a wonderful gift to have. honor the process even if it is the most frustrating thing. 'if you change your perspective you notice that things around you begin to change' chin up. we're all rooting for you guys!
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