There is Great Joy Ahead…

As if being reminded of my 4-year old talents wasn’t profound enough, I wanted to share another {possibly EVEN better} lesson learned from the Living Proof Live event.

I know, I know…you’re thinking, this can’t be possible. You already told us that you were a child genius! What more could you have to share?! Ha!

Before I get to the good stuff, first let me give you a little bit of the back story…

We have been working HARD on our dossier paperwork for our adoption. It is just ridiculous how long this is taking. It is a checklist of documents, people. A checklist.

I am the self-proclaimed QUEEN of checklists. That is what I do. I check things off lists. I write down tasks that I already completed just so I can check them off.

This is why I am beyond frustrated with all of this paperwork. For Pete’s sake, I should be able to compile a bunch of bloody documents, right?! (I don’t know why I used the word “bloody” – I guess I’m feeling British this morning after having a scone for breakfast).

Anyway, we have been having setback after setback with these documents.

I KNOW with 100% confidence that the enemy is working against us here. He HATES adoption. He will stop at nothing to stand in our way. This isn’t just about gathering documents. There is a real spiritual battle happening here.

Every single time I think we have a document returned complete and notarized, we find a mistake. Dates not matching. Wording not exact (and I mean EXACT).

For example, I have had to have my sweet, kind, fabulous HR manager rewrite my employment letter SIX times. SIX. Are you kidding me?!

Last week, I was in tears on the phone with our CPA. Dave is self-employed and we need a very specific letter from our CPA stating in exact terms that he has been Dave’s CPA for the past 8 years and Dave’s salary last year was X and his anticipated salary this coming year is X.

Well, that just sounds simple, doesn’t it?

It’s not. Dave doesn’t have a set salary. He reinvests money into his business all the time. And, his taxes for 2011 are not final so the CPA will not write what the salary amount was for 2011 yet. He also will not estimate what Dave’s salary for 2012 will be. He also won’t just agree with me on what our rental income for 2011 was. I gave him a number that is accurate based on our calculations and he won’t just use it. Can you hear how loudly I’m typing this? Do you sense my frustration here?!

UGH!

To make matters worse, just after VERY exciting progress that our home study is written and under review (we need a final home study in order to apply for our approval from the US Immigration office), I got an email on Saturday morning from our social worker stating that our agency does not agree with her approved parameters. This sounds complicated but basically, she approved us for a child or siblings up to 36 months old and our agency (based on our very initial conversations) has us approved for one child up to 18 months old.

So, there is a problem. The agency approval HAS to match our home study approval.

Okay…that was a long background story…

The point of this all is to say that I received the email from our incredibly patient and fantastic social worker on Saturday morning as I was leaving the hotel to go hear Beth Moore speak.

I was a hot mess, ya’ll.

A blubbering, frustrated, sad, annoyed, mess.

I NEEDED to be filled up. I needed to be reminded of WHY we are doing all of this. And, WHO is in charge of it all.

And, I was.

God did not let me down. He never does. Never.

As Beth asked us to turn in our Bible’s to 1 Thessalonians, I flipped a little too far and landed right on the first chapter of 1 Peter.

Do you know what was highlighted in bright yellow and caught my attention? 1 Peter 1:6.

“There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.”

Wow…did you get goosebumps too?

That’s not even all of it!

I was feverishly writing this verse and my thoughts down in my notebook (basically, I wrote “the enemy is fighting this against this adoption every step of the way but God is charge. His timing is PERFECT. We will suffer through paperwork and the wait and the grief and the long road ahead BUT there IS great joy ahead!”)

As soon as I finished writing, do you know what Beth did?

She asked us to turn in our Bibles to 1 Peter 1:6!!!!!!!!

I literally could not believe it. My sister-in-law was sitting next to me and about fell off her chair since I had just shown her the verse I had written down.

Beth went on to say that we must go through trials and afflictions and be tested in our faith. But we will also have holy moments in this very unholy place (earth). We must still fight the good fight.

I know that someday I want to be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:6).

“So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.” (1 Peter 5:19) Emphasis mine.

I know that there will be trials on this road. I know it will not be easy. But I know we are called to this place for a greater purpose. We are fighting the good fight every step of the way. And we will be rewarded. And, oh my, how great our reward will be. There is GREAT JOY ahead!!!