It's been almost exactly 3 months since I last wrote a post on this blog, and as I re-read my posts from the past year, I can hardly believe where we are at the start of 2014! When I wrote my first post on adoption in January 2013, I said that Jon and I were hoping/planning to build our family through adoption in "the next few years". Well, I guess the Lord had a different timeline for us, because it looks like "the next few years" may actually be this year! Below is an excerpt from our 2013 newsletter that we handed out around Christmas time:
WE ARE “EXPECTING”!
Some of you have already heard this news, but we thought we would officially announce our “pregnancy” in this newsletter – the only thing is our children aren’t growing in Mel’s tummy! We have decided to build our family through adoption.
Currently in Canada, more than 30,000 kids are in foster care, and we have recently started the process to adopt a group of siblings. We are so excited! We have always hoped that we would have our children through adoption, and we can hardly believe that we are on our way to seeing that happen! If all goes smoothly, the training and home study process will be finished by the end of March, and then we could be open for adoption and waiting for a “match” shortly after. So it’s possible that we are now parents-to-be – we’re just not sure when! We don’t know how many children we will have yet (could be 2-4 siblings), or how old they will be (could be anywhere between 0 and 8 years), but we already love them and are praying for them. We can’t wait to bring them home!
As Christians though, adoption for us is much more than simply providing a home for waiting children. On a Christian adoption website, (www.waitingtobelong.ca) it says, “The Bible tells us that even before the creation of the world, God predestined us to be adopted as His sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5)” and “God’s heart for the orphan pours forth from His Word. Adoption has been described by Pastor John Piper as the visible gospel. It is proclaimed to a watching world that desperately needs to know the love of the heavenly Father.”
Our final home study session is coming up on February 1st. After that meeting, our home study assessor will send our report (describing the kind of family we are and the children who will fit best in our home) to her supervisor for approval. At this point we are not guaranteed approval, but we are so far into the process now (after completing the PRIDE training and most of the SAFE home study assessment) that it would definitely be hard for us if it fell through. Yet even though we're not officially "adopt ready" at this stage, we decided to go public with our "news" for a few reasons:
- We would rather share all of the process with our family and friends than keep it a secret. Being open about it means that we get to share the joy or the sorrow of this process with the people we love, and we like it that way. What's that saying? - A joy shared is doubled and a sorrow shared is halved? Something like that! :)
- If everything DOES go smoothly, there's a possibility that we could be matched with our children very quickly, so we wanted to give all of our loved ones some processing time before we have an instant family! :)
It will be interesting to see what this year brings. Our life could change drastically in just a few months. What is now a fairly quiet, orderly, and low-key home, occupied by 2 introverts and their extremely chill dog, could in quick time be overflowing with noise and laughter and squabbles and toys! :) I am excited! And a bit nervous! But more excited. :) I hope to blog on here about this adoption journey, as well as other things that I am learning in my walk with God (hopefully it won't be 3 months between each post this year!). I'm so thankful that God is in control of our lives and already waiting in the future for us.
