Last time we posted we thought things were picking up speed. Well maybe not. Things have not moved out of CIS as fast as we had thought. Still waiting. We have been waiting on the final approval form CIS for about three weeks now. It has supposedly been sent three time. The first time, nothing arrived at our house or at Children’s Hope. Then came the second attempt. Much to our surprise Children's Hope received our CIS approval- to adopt from China!!! Now as much as we are willing to follow God's call to adopt from China, our dossier is in Colombia not China. It seams the worker at CIS was working requests from three different families with our same last name. So we wait for the third attempt to get our final approval! International adoption can be very frustrating..... but only if you let it. We believe nothing happens apart from the perfect will of God. We don't pretend to understand why all of these things are happening, but we trust that God not only knows, but also that His hand guides all of this for His purpose and He has chosen the date to put Carolina and Neydali into our arms. So we wait. Some days patiently and other days to my shame - impatiently.
We wait and are at the whim of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS). So all this delay is a result of this thing called citizenship. Tonight as I write and as I think on these things I took the time to look up the secular definition of citizenship. Webster's tells me:
Definition of CITIZENSHIP
1: the status of being a citizen
2a : membership in a community (as a college) b : the quality of an individual's response to membership in a community
Hmmm. We most often think of citizenship in terms of our country of origin or a country we have been legally accepted into. 1: the status of being a citizen. I was born in Canada, but that is not what I claim as my citizenship. I have US naturalization papers; again that is not what I claim as my citizenship. God's word teaches me that this world is not my home, and so I cannot claim citizenship of an earthly county. Instead, because of Christ's sacrifice for me, and because I have accepted him by grace through faith, He has gone to prepare a place for me. A place His word tells me where there are many mansions. This I find consistent with Webster's 2a definition of citizenship. Membership in a community. Not that I am deserving of it mind you, but my citizenship is in heaven. I am a member of a community of believers in Christ. I am His and He is mine. He has adopted me as a child of God.
Webster's definition 2b - the quality of an individual's response to a membership in a community. Hmmm. Here is the essence of why I wait. It is my response to my membership in the community of Christ Jesus. His response in establishing this community was to die a horrible death on a cross- for me personally, and for you as well. Each of us who are members of this group (citizens) are called by God to respond because of that membership. He does not call each of us to exactly the same response, since He has many members and many required responses to fulfill His purposes on this earth. For Betty and me the response He has called us to as His citizens is to raise up His children for His glory. So we wait, sometimes patiently sometimes not so patiently, but we wait. Always knowing that the reward is so worth the wait. Being a dad is not about me. It is not even about the children I have been blessed with. It is about Christ. He has entrusted to me these 15 precious children (who knows maybe even more) to lead them to Him that they too may become citizens in His kingdom and know the response He has created them for. My prayer tonight is God will be satisfied with the quality of my response to Him as a dad. I pray also He will bless my response and through my children both adopted and biological He will find clay waiting to be molded by His hands and for His purpose. We wait.
Disconnected thought number 2! We all have our pet rocks- you know those little things others do that really annoy us. Yes I've got my pet rocks too! I'm not proud of them, but they are there. One of mine is shoes left on the porch or on the steps leading into the house from the garage or even on the back porch blocking the door. The thing about this particular pet rock is that it doesn't bother anyone in the family but me- HOW FRUSTRATING! Now think about it. 15 kids. 10 (soon to be 12) who live at home plus my amazing wife. That’s a lot of feet, AND that’s a lot of shoes. A lot of shoes, especially when you consider 6 (soon to be 8) of those feet are female type feet. Do you have any idea of how many shoes come with 12 (soon to be 16) female feet (not to mention 10 male type feet). We have thousands of shoes. Did you know that it is possible to pile 17,234 shoes in front of one doorway- it is. I counted them. I have three doorways- I'm drowning in an ocean of shoes. OK maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, there were only 17233 shoes on the front porch! Does anyone care about this out there? Dads help me out here. OK, never mind. God has been working on my heart about shoes of all things. Recently, I asked my wife if she could remember our house ever being quiet. She just smiled, and I told her one day it will be again. And then I will be very sad. I love my house, I love my life and I love my noisy house. I pray God will never let it be quiet again. I still don't like shoes on the porch... God has been helping me to see the shoes are there because of all the beautiful feet He has put into my life. Beautiful feet need piles of shoes on the front porch. I'm learning to get over it. I now look at the shoes and think of the beautiful feet, and hands and faces that smile at me and say "I love you daddy". But still when nobody is looking I give that big pile of shoes A BIG KICK. Doesn't accomplish anything- but I feel better. Here’s to the four new feet I can't wait to pile shoes on my porch.
I'm so glad God loves me the way I am. He loves me in spite of all the annoying (and sinful) things I do.
Disconnected thought number 3! When I was a young man, other men would talk about cars. They would tell me of their desires; Mercedes, BMWs Audis among many others. Having started my family at a young age, I would find myself telling them all I wanted was a station wagon! They though I was a little weird- OK a lot weird. As our family grew and grew, these guys that talked of fast cars would ask me what I drove. Over time I would say a station wagon (yep - got my dream car!), then a mini van, and finally a 12 passenger van. All along the way I would joke with people and say we had a school bus. Some of them actually believed me (does that say anything about the lovers of fast cars!). Be careful what you joke about. In a few weeks we will outgrow the 12 passenger van. Now I really do want a bus. Betty and I have been looking into used 20 passenger busses (this time I want room to grow- never know when God will plop in another dozen children or so). We have been praying that God will show us His plan for transportation. We can't afford any of the busses we have found. Perhaps it is not His will for us. We submit to Him in this fully, knowing He loves us and will care for us as the perfect father that He is. We can always take the van and the car everywhere we go. Many around the world have only their feet. We are so blessed. I am thanking Him tonight for the abundant blessings I have. God is good.
Why "Eight Is Not Enough"?
When we were younger, there was a television sitcom that was called "Eight is Enough". The television watching world was entertained with the thought of a family with eight children. Most of us were shocked at the prospect of such a large family- myself included! Then ever so slowly, God began to work on our hearts, until we surrendered to Him all of our lives- yes even gave Him sovereign control over the size of our family and He has blessed us immeasurably, with eight biological children. Each of these children have been an amazing gift to us and we cherish each of them. And we praised God for them and felt to ourselves "eight is enough" - at least for a time.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Monday, February 27, 2012
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1 comment:
I understand the shoe problem! Unfortunately, feet of the Chinese female type have even more shoes than the average American female type. They overflow my roommie's closet, and her bedroom, and our back hallway, and front closet, and entry floor. I can sympathize. :)
My mom used to get upset by all my shoes in the entry and the hall growing up ... now I have become my mother. It's a good reminder to love the person whose feet are IN the shoes. :)
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