The Lord is a God of Justice

"For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him!"

Isaiah 30:18

There are a few phases of the adoption process. The first is the paper chase. I have spoken of the details here before. It is a laborious and tedious part of the process. We are in this process now. The second phase is a waiting phase. After all of your paperwork is submitted and sent to the appropriate officials both here and in Ethiopia we go on a wait list with other families who are being matched by our adoption agency. During this phase you wait. You can still fund raise and pray and prepare in some ways but as far as the logistical work of the adoption process you are waiting. Waiting for a referral, where you will see your child's precious face and then waiting to go meet them and then waiting again to bring them home forever! 

We are in the final stages (hopefully) of the paper chase. We have been gathering documents, filling our paperwork, and meeting with social workers for the past 3 months. As I have mentioned before the three main things we are working on are:

1. Homestudy 

2. USCIS (US Government packet)

3. Ethiopian Dossier 

We have done everything we can for the home study and are now waiting on our social worker to essentially write up the official document. This is an 18-20 page report detailing everything she learned about our family and making determining if we are fit to adopt. 

We cannot send in the USCIS packet without the home study. 

We cannot send in the Ethiopian Dossier without the home study and US approval. 

So, we wait. 

We wait with an unseen burden of work undone resting on our shoulders. I feel this burden probably most in our family. I have paperwork that needs finalized and notarized. I have steps to take to send in certain documents and wait on others. I have State Seals to get and confirmations to receive. 

We wait with the burden of our sweet children (mainly Levi) asking each day, many times a day, "When are our brother and sister going to get here?" "When is 'next year'?" "Can we buy that for our new babies?" "When our babies get here- they can sit 'here' and 'here'." And our answer continually being "I don't know sweet heart." "I hope soon" 

We wait with the burden of 2 of our children somewhere else. Maybe born. Maybe in another mother's womb. We wait wondering, "Are they okay?" "Are they safe?" "Are they being shown love?" We wait praying for faces and hearts not yet known to us. We wait with urgency for our children to be "orphans no more". 

As my mind ponders these things. As I bear the burden of these things my gracious and compassionate God speaks promises to me. He reminds me of truths I know and truths that I can cling to and rest in.

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

Psalm 68:19

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ears too dull to hear."

Isaiah 59:1

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"

Isaiah 30:18

For the Lord is a God of justice. He has shown us over and over again his heart for and defense of the fatherless in this world. He has called us to join him, in his work, of defending the cause of the fatherless and making orphans sons and daughters. It is HIS work. His plans will stand. He is a God of justice. Who is working even when I sleep and who is moved by the cry of all forgotten and oppressed and he is even moved by me in my impatience and small burdens. 

So I wait on him. So I trust in his purpose and his plan. I believe in his love for, his compassion for our children. I believe he is working all things together for their good. 

Prayer Requests:

1. Will you pray for our home study to be done and in our hands this week?

2. Will you pray that we can be done with our paperwork by the end of September?

3. Will you pray that each step would be uncomplicated and fast?