Waiting...

Waiting...waiting...waiting. There is a whole lot of waiting going on in our lives right now- and NOT just on the adoption front. Obviously we have not reached the MAJOR waiting point- the time from which our dossier reaches Ethiopia until we receive a referral- that time is still quite a ways away from us. The waiting right now is for little paperwork pieces and mostly in other components of our life. But the real waiting that is impacting me this week is not even my own waiting- it is the waiting children in Ethiopia. The children that have been waiting anywhere from a few months to years for a family. If we, the adopting families here in America, feel like we are waiting- I can't even begin to imagine what the waiting must feel like on the other end. I can't describe what it does to me any better than to say it literally hurts my heart. I ache for what I cannot possibly give all of them- a home. I can't imagine being 12 years old and hoping that one day- just the right person will see my picture on a waiting child list and choose me. I can't imagine that just the right person will overlook that I have been living in an institution, malnourished, improperly disciplined, insecurely attached, and so on. I can't imagine hoping that just the right person will think "this child is a perfect fit for my home!" I can't imagine hoping that just the right person will overlook all the challenges that adding me to their family might bring and yet still decide that I am worth it. I can't imagine all that. That is a lot of waiting and wondering for somebody so young. And yet, that is the reality for SO SO SO many children. I do not yet know who the Lord will bring us- only He knows the blessing He has in store for our family at the end of this journey. But this week, I am committing to praying for the waiting children. The children who, themselves, are praying for a family. This week I am remembering them, loving them from afar, and praying that their waiting will soon come to an end.