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Monday, January 24, 2011

Who Is My God-Chosen Child?

I have been keeping track of a beautiful girl who is a child in the foster care system out of state. Her photo and story spark my heart and soul and I have prayed for her daily. I do not know if this is a child God has chosen to be mine. If not, she will remain in my prayers. I am not particular of the gender of the child as I hope to adopt more children in the future. Mike really wants a daughter for our first child. This beauty may be the one, I do not know.

Every mother wonders what their child will be like even before the mother is pregnant. There are only two things I know about my child - he/she is already in existence experiencing life and he/she is a child of God. As a mother-to-be, I have fallen in love with whomever that child may be - the good, the bad; the beautiful, the ugly - just as God loved us before we were born. I know our transition may not be smooth, especially for a child over age six with set ways and many past experiences. I do not expect the child to love me or even like me for a while. I have read it could take a year or more for a child to trust then begin to love. Mentally I am okay with that; not sure how my heart will hand it, wanting to be a mother so strongly, but with discipline, structure, routine, caring, counseling, support, prayer and faith we will become the family God wants us to become.

If this child I have found is to be my daughter, I pray we will meet soon so we can begin trusting each other and some day love each other. I do not know the day or year I will meet any of my children or from where they come. All is part of God's plan. I do not believe in predestination, but I do believe in God's master design. He will let me know when I have discovered "my child".

Heavenly Creator,
I pray you watch over this child while she waits for her forever family. Gentle her heart and give her hope that she will find a family, if not ours. I pray for whomever you have chosen as my children wherever they may be at this hour. Provide comfort to all children needing love, safety, and a place to belong whether orphaned, abandoned or abused.

Strengthen the hearts of others who work for the orphaned and the oppressed. Guide Carl as he changes the lives of so many Jamaican orphans and stirs the hearts of those who are able to help improve their lives.

I pray for all orphans, foster children, children in relative care, children in institutions, children on the street. Wrap your loving arms around all the children who are in need of love, safety, stability, food, shelter and education. Thy will be done, not mine.

Psalm 10:17-18 NRSV:
"O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more."

Friday, January 21, 2011

Waiting and Preparing

We are in a waiting stage right now. We are living in temporary housing while we wait to close on our new home. We have been waiting for the results of our fingerprinting - I get to go back in for the state because the scans for my fingerprints were not good enough. I do not know what happens if the second set do not scan well. I am still waiting to hear about the national fingerprinting, we had problems with my fingerprints that day. Once I get my fingerprints accepted we can begin our interviews with the state caseworker.

Once we move, we have some repairs on the house to complete - plumbing, wiring, getting windows to open. Then we set up the child's room and get ready for the foster-adopt inspection (hopefully in April).

We continue to wait and prepare. Prepare our lives for a child, prepare our new home, prepare my employer for some time off by me with little notice, prepare family and friends for the changes in our lives, prepare our hearts and souls to have the patience and strength provided by the Lord to help a hurting child. Prepare for moving. Prepare for fixing. Prepare child's room and rest of home and veehicles. Prepare for interviews and inspection. Prepare for accepting a child.

While we prepare, we wait. Wait for the paperwork to close on the house. Wait to have the paperwork recorded so we can get the keys and move in. Wait for additional fingerprinting processing. Wait for the interviews. Wait for the inspection. Wait for placement of a child.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

New Year, Many Changes

This new year of 2011 is bringing many changes for us. The sale of our home is progressing quickly and we will be moving to temporary housing for two weeks. Then we will close and move to our new home. We will unpack in a matter of weeks including unpacking the many toys we received at Christmas for our future children.

We got word just before Christmas that our references received their 2-page questionnaires about us from DSHS. Mom has warned there may be a 15-page questionnaire on their way to our references. Mom has filled out the questionnaires for her neighbors for their foster-adopt license and that was only a few years ago. Mom says the questions are redundant after the first two or three pages.

We go in for DSHS fingerprinting this Friday then up to immigation in SeaTac on Monday for USCIS fingerprinting. DSHS fingerprints and background check are for the foster-adopt. The USCIS fingerprints and background check are for the Jamaican adoption. The next step after moving and unpacking is getting the house ready for the foster-adopt inspection in either March or April, whenever the needed repairs are complete. The anticipation is building as we get closer to becoming parents.

The anticipation of moving and adopting is sapping my concentration at work. There are many pressing things at work to attend to these next several months. With the building anticipation my nesting is increasing and will be in full swing once we get settled in our new home. One day we will get a call to take a child that fits God's plan for us and may only have an hour or two to make a decision about taking the child. One day we will be waiting for a child and the next day we will be parents. You can only plan so much and God always throws out our plans. He's laughing right now at the plans we have been making to become good parents. Along the way He has provided us with some extraordinary people and special supporters during our planning and nesting time. Blessings 'til next time.