You're such great people!

More and more, I am hearing these comments. "You're such great people." "You're doing an amazing thing.", "You're such great parents, this girl is gonna be so lucky.", etc. While, I appreciate the comments and know that they come from great hearts and a lot of times they come from hearts of encouragement. I can't help, but think on these comments sometimes and cringe.

I'm realizing that some people may think that we have it all together and that is why we are choosing to adopt. Or that they just don't have it in them or have it together enough themselves to do such a thing. And while I truly believe that not all people are called to adopt themselves and I'm totally ok with that, It makes me sad to think that there are some people that think things like, "I would love to adopt someday...maybe when this is in place or that is in place, or when I'm better at this one thing...". Like, maybe they do feel the call, but are worried that they aren't qualified or good enough or just don't have it together enough financially, physically or spiritually, etc. to take that leap. And I totally understand that some may be making the right choice by delaying if they truly feel they need to get some things in order before they adopt. But, I also know, from experience that many people can find reason after reason to not do something they feel a call to do. They could end up delaying it forever, because they end up never feeling like things aren't quite "perfect" enough to begin the adoption journey (or whatever other thing they may be feeling the longing/ call to do.)

I'm here to tell you that we don't have it all together. We aren't great people. We're sinners. We don't always feel good enough or equipped to be doing this. Financially, we didn't have all the money together to pay for this journey. Spiritually, we don't have all the answers. We sin on a daily, probably hourly basis. We aren't perfect parents. We mess up; we make mistakes. We fall short on a regular basis. We don't have it all together.

What we do have is a great and powerful God! We have a God that will equip us. Through this journey, He will grow and change us and make us more like the person we need to be to take this journey. He has already changed us throughout this journey so far. He has made me more compassionate, given me a broken heart for the things that break His heart. He has made me a better parent. Seeing and becoming more aware of what some kids have to go through has made me more compassionate toward my children. I'm being forced to have more patience. No choice when you're having to do lots of hurry up and wait throughout this process.

I came across Moses story in the bible the other day and it really encouraged me. " Then Moses said to the Lord, 'Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.' The Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not, I the Lord? 'Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.'" A couple of things strike me in this verse. God didn't tell Moses that He would fix his mouth before hand or even that he would teach him what to say before he actually left to go on the journey. God told Moses to Go first and He would teach him what to say. Also, God was sure to let Moses know who was in charge, that He made man's mouth and that He was in charge of what that said mouth would do. Moses felt totally inadequate to do what God was telling him to do, but God let Moses know that He was going to equip him.

So, I really feel like many times, when we feel the longing; the call to do something that seems really major to us. Something that we feel totally inadequate to do, many of us tend to delay or hold off, waiting to be better, feel more ready, to feel more equipped. When, maybe, just maybe, we won't actually get equipped until we take that leap of faith first. Maybe God will use the journey along the way, to teach us and equip us for what He wants us to do. Our entire life is like that anyway, right? We are always learning, always changing and growing. We won't ever really have it all together until we are finally with Jesus, living in God's presence.

So, what have you been waiting to do? Maybe it's time to stop waiting for everything to be in place beforehand? Maybe God is waiting for you to take that leap of faith first, so He can equip you along the way.

Step by Step

Well, we are getting closer to getting our girl. This week we received our court approval on our home study. We are officially certified to adopt, according to the state of Arizona! This was a big step that we were waiting on.
Now, we can apply to USCIS (Immigration) to bring a child from China into the US. This step will take up to 3 months. Part of the process includes getting biometrics (fingerprinting) done. Most of the time, this is approved within about 35 to 40 days, if they don't require extra information or anything. Please pray that this step goes smoothly and quickly. This step could be the difference between a fall or winter gotcha day.
After immigration approval we can send that and the home study through the same process as all the other paperwork (Secretary of State certification and Chinese Consulate authentication). This will take a couple of weeks. Then, everything can go off to China. So, lets pray for this all to happen by June. That would be a huge blessing!

In other news, we are doing a t-shirt fundraiser. Who doesn't love a good t-shirt? And all to help bring a child home to a forever family. Please take a look and share with everyone you know.

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/widner-adoption-fund