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Waiting for Referral
February 1, 2007
| March 14,
2007 |
May 14, 2007 |
July 5, 2007
| October 16,
2007 |
March 15, 2008 |
January 25, 2009
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May 25, 2009
“Happiness is a
butterfly, which when pursued is just out of grasp…
but if you will sit quietly, may alight upon you.”
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
The transformation of a tiny egg into a miraculous
butterfly is the way I have approached this incredible
adoption process. It continues to be a magnificent
experience, growing, changing, resting and waiting
patiently for each new and exciting change to take place.
With any change there are good times and times to be
tested so here is where it all began. My intentions are
merely to share with you what rests in my heart, so that
you will know a little more about why I chose to adopt and
how it all transpired.
Egg
It all began with a weekend retreat, so to speak, that led
me to my decision to adopt. The theme of this particular 4
day retreat was entitled “Rejoice in the God Who Calls
You!” It dawned on me later that this was why I needed to
be on this particular retreat! That weekend I was seated
at a table named “Angels of Hope”. At the time I thought
that it was a sweet name for the group of people I was
sitting with, but again, later into this adoption process
I learn once more that this name is more than significant!
After this special weekend I decided to get together with
some of the new friends I had made on this weekend to
start a prayer group. When I told them I was interested in
adoption I found out that all of them had a personal
connection to adoption! Two were adopted as infants,
another had an adopted sibling, and two had adopted
children internationally themselves. Was this a
coincidence? Or my first Red Thread into a series of them?
The seed of Hope surely was planted in my heart and was
ready to be cultivated.
Also, this same year while teaching about the country of
China to my second graders I opened a fortune cookie that
read, “Your dreams are never silly! Depend on them to
guide you.” So with that being said I decided to take the
plunge and called agency after agency. At this time, I
found out that China was closed to singles and it would be
a three year wait to get my name on any list. When taking
classes for special needs children I made connections to
many people interested in adoption. With these
connections, or Red Threads, I finally got my name on a
list and to make a long story short…. The name of the
agency was (is) Cradle of Hope!!! As I mailed my
application on July 5th, 2005 a beautiful butterfly
fluttered with me as I walked from the post office to my
car. I realized that this was a sign of God’s presence! On
July 7th, 2005 I received a call and got the go ahead to
start the process!
Caterpillar
Caterpillars can crawl at a slow pace and yet cover a lot
of territory. They grow stronger each day so that they can
get themselves to a peaceful waiting place to make the
miraculous transformation into that beautiful winged
insect. Well, doing paperwork for an adoption is much like
the caterpillar’s journey. Take a few steps everyday and
you eventually will be closer to your goal. Calling,
signing, writing, typing, writing, typing, writing,
typing, reading, editing, filing, drawing, notarizing,
authenticating, legalizing, stamping, sealing, and
ultimately sending were just a few of the steps I took!
Finally, my paperwork was completed, sent to China and my
Log in Date was listed as March 15th, 2006!!! The hard
part was over and I found out a lot about myself along the
way and realized that I had become stronger in many ways.
Much like the caterpillar…now I was ready for the long
wait…which at the time was going to take 8-10 months. Now,
as you are reading this the wait is up to 15 months to
receive my referral from the actual log in date. Then
another two months until I actually travel. Ready? Set!
Wait!
Chrysalis
During this time I thought that I would be busy doing many
things to prepare for parenthood. And I have! But my heart
has also been called to “Be Still” and wait with patience
I might add! A caterpillar takes time and is very aware of
knowing he must eventually stop and be still in order to
make that conversion…so I have also learned that too.
Ironically, I was asked to serve on a retreat team just
like the one I was on when I was called to the process of
adoption. Yes! The name of the theme of this weekend was,
“Be Still and Know”. Another Red Thread! So I have been
waiting prayerfully and patiently and have been trying to
take things off of “my plate” to prepare for the next
stage of this incredible journey to my daughter.
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The
Butterfly
“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for
it patiently.”
-Romans 8:25 |
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myadoptionwebsite.com
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