WE. ARE. ACTIVE.
Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here jumping for joy while also trying not to completely freak out. We are closing one chapter of waiting and opening the next one. Our profile is being viewed by birth moms and so we wait on God’s sovereign timing to be chosen. It could be days, it could be a year. We’ve asked our consultant to only show our profile to birth moms who are due in December or later. That will give Jacob time to adjust to being home from his deployment. Moment to acknowledge that! We are in the last third of his deployment. Hallelujah. I’m ready for my man to come home! A few of you have so kindly and generously asked if we have a registry. The answer is sort of. It’s a work in progress. I’ve started one at Target and on Amazon. They are incomplete because we haven’t quite figured out what all we’d like to get. The main reason for this is because we’ve been encouraged to wait until our baby is home before having a shower. Another reason is because some of the items we’ll choose are more gender specific and we obviously don’t know yet whether we will have a boy or girl. All that to say, you can certainly take a look at those but at this point, gift cards would be the biggest blessing. Otherwise feel free to wait! I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago about a playlist I made on Spotify with songs about waiting and trusting the Lord. If you want to listen, you can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/user/allisondaleforbes/playlist/0CU8NQZrhwST4iZYbJTARS One of the songs on the playlist is “Take Courage.” That has been my anthem and the cry of my heart and will continue to be in the coming months. I can’t get over how perfect the lyrics are for this season. Slow down, take time Breath in He said He'd reveal what's to come The thoughts in His mind Always higher than mine He'll reveal all to come Take courage my heart Stay steadfast my soul He's in the waiting He's in the waiting Hold onto your hope As your triumph unfolds He's never failing He's never failing Sing praise my soul Find strength in joy Let His Words lead you on Do not forget His great faithfulness He'll finish all He's begun So take courage my heart Stay steadfast my soul He's in the waiting He's in the waiting Hold onto your hope As your triumph unfolds He's never failing He's never failing And You who hold the stars Who call them each by name Will surely keep, Your promise to me That I will rise, in Your victory! He's in the waiting... Please be praying for us. For our birth mom. For our baby. We are so grateful that we are not alone in this journey.
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This is such an odd season of the adoption process. It is one of waiting, but it is only the first. We will have a time where we will be waiting to get matched, waiting for the baby to be born, waiting for the birth mom to sign her rights over to us…so. much. waiting. Right now, we are waiting until closer to when Jacob gets back before our profile book begins to be distributed to agencies. The consultant we work with has an average match time of 4 months. That means, that on average, the families they work with get picked by a birth mom 4 months after their book has been given out to agencies for birth moms to review. Most of the birth moms they work with are already 7-9 months along in their pregnancy. It is for this reason that we are waiting until the tail end of Jacob’s deployment. We want to make sure that he will be back and have some time at home before our baby is born. Obviously, there is so much that is outside of our control and we really have no idea what the timeline will end up being. Some people get matched the same day they go active, for others it takes almost a year. We have to do the best we can with what we know and go from there. I can’t help but go back yet again to Psalm 37:3-7. 3 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b] 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.” So, here I am, waiting. And doing my best to do it patiently! I’ve been filling some of my time researching baby items, trying to figure out what we should buy and register for. Talk about overwhelming. Goodness gracious! I’ve also gotten a start on the nursery. It feels so amazing to walk by a room that was once empty and see it start to be filled. I’ve continued to enjoy reading and listening to stories about adoption and learning from others. Two that I’ve especially loved lately are: “The Lucky Few”- This sweet momma shares the story of their adoption journey with each of their 3 kids, 2 of which have down syndrome. I highly recommend this book! And just look at the sweet faces of her kiddos! Her Instagram account, @macymakesmyday, is just the best. “The Archibald Project”- This is an orphan care advocacy organization that uses media to tell stories. Their Instagram account, @thearchibaldproject, is full of incredible pictures that are inspiring and beautiful. I also really enjoy their podcast. Thank you for continuing to check on us and pray for us during the wait ♥
I am working my way through the early part of the Old Testament right now with my discipleship group. We read Ruth last week and I saw it through different eyes this time. Infertility is a common theme throughout the Bible and I am only now realizing how much after struggling with fertility issues myself.
It never clicked for me that Ruth was married for 10 years and did not have a baby. And then her husband died leaving her in an extremely vulnerable situation. Rather than give up, she courageously leaves her home land and follows Naomi. There is so much to admire about Ruth. She was unwaveringly faithful to her mother in law and had a tender heart that longed to leave the false gods she was raised with and follow the One True God. She was not afraid to work hard. She was bold and brave. It hit me that Boaz was brave too. He joyfully stepped into the role of kinsman redeemer to a woman who, for all he knew, was barren. That was so significant in that day and age! He risked being able to pass on his name and have a son to share an inheritance with. I imagine that he got his brave spirit from his mom, Rahab. She was the prostitute in Jericho that harbored the Israelite spies and God spared her in the destruction of the city. Women are brave. They were then and they are now. I’ve been amazed at the bravery of the women in my life lately and the way they have walked, and are walking, through heart wrenching situations involving fertility issues. The more I talk to women around me, the more I realize how many have stories of heartache and struggle. Some are in the thick of the pain. Some are limping along, afraid to hope. Some are holding and raising their miracle babies. But they all have the scars of the brave. It is incredibly humbling. God is still writing our story. I don’t know what all He has in store for us. I am grateful for the brave examples of the women around me. They inspire me to cling to the Lord and put my hope and trust in Him alone. “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT) |
Romans 8:15-17
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