I ran across this article about purposeful waiting, and it really encouraged me. Here are a few of my favorite quotes, beginning with my MOST favorite:
"Celebrate the fact that God will not forsake that process of grace in your life and ministry in order to deliver to you the momentary comfort, pleasure, and ease that you would rather have in your time of exhaustion, discouragement, and weakness. He simply loves you too much to exchange temporary gratification for eternal glory!"
"...waiting should actually be a relief. It’s a reminder that I don’t have as much power and control as I thought I had."
"I often remember what is said of Abraham in Romans 4:18-21. The passage tells us that as he waited, Abraham was strengthened in his faith. That’s not what we would expect, is it? We tend to think that, having been given a promise from God, a person might well begin to wait with vibrant faith. But as the wait drags on it seems like that faith would gradually weaken. So why did Abraham’s faith on the whole grow stronger and stronger? Because of what he did as he waited. During his wait, Abraham became a student of the character and power of God, and the more he saw God for who he is, the stronger his faith became."
You can go HERE for the entire article.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Secrets Revealed
It has officially been six months since we were approved for adoption. We are still waiting for our baby. Honestly, I thought we would have a hip baby by now. (You know how teensy babies have to be cradled then they get big enough to sit on your hip?) Didn't you think I would be toting a hip baby around by now? Me too!! What is up?
For those of you who are curious about what is going on (you are laying awake at night thinking about this, I know).... here's the scoop. There haven't really been many babies available for adoption through our agency this summer. In fact, until recently, there hadn't been any babies placed in our area through our agency. So, we're still "just waiting."
Anyway, I kind of unraveled several weeks ago and questioned the whole thing. Are we supposed to be adopting domestically, since there doesn't seem to be such an urgent need? Once I started questioning our specific choice of adoption paths, then I started also questioning the whole thing. It hasn't been pretty, let's just say that. I haven't wanted to post anything until either a) we got a baby or b) I could GET A GRIP and muster up some faith. I really started to question my own judgement in naming this blog "Believing is Seeing." Make a big deal about relying on faith - that's just inviting trouble, right?
Well, I'm 0 for 2. I decided to go ahead and post because I sense there is something significant about this time of waiting. Now, when I say there is something significant, I don't mean pleasant. I'm not lovin' it nor would I choose to still be waiting. I really want our baby to come. Our boys really want our baby to come. We are ready (or so we think). But, I don't want to overlook what God has purposed for this time of waiting.
When sharing my recent feelings of doubt about our adoption with a friend/mentor of mine, she suggested I do a study of people in the Bible who had to wait. I thought that was very insightful. So, I jumped right in. I started in Genesis. And, long about, OH Genesis TWELVE I found my first Bible person to study - Abraham. I am still studying Abraham's story as he waited for the promised son Isaac. I was reminded that it was more than fourteen years from the time God first promised Abraham a son to the time Isaac was born.
There's a lot I could tell you about my short time in this study. In fact, I just erased a paragraph of thoughts on one tangent that is not exactly relevant to my main point but was interesting none the less. (Curious, aren't you?) Here's what I am getting out of this study, overall.
1. God IS characterized by making people wait. Our six month adoption wait had caused me to start questioning what I believed God told us to do. We were called, through unique experiences and circumstances, to adopt domestically through our specific agency, to be open to either gender and any race, and to welcome the opportunity to have a level of openness with the baby's birth mom. I have been tempted to worry, what if we got it wrong and that's why there is a wait? (Then, I am saying that God is not able to effectively communicate His plan to us.) It just seemed that us having to wait was an indication that we were on the wrong adoption path, or that maybe were weren't called to adopt at all. But, after studying even just a bit of God's Word, I am seeing that making people wait is totally God's M O. More typically than not, people had to wait. Sometimes because of punishment (Israelites in the desert) sometimes for desires to be fulfilled (barren women crying out for a child) sometimes when promises were pending (Abraham and THE MESSIAH, for goodness sake!) and sometimes just because!
So, I have concluded that unless we have some strong evidence that suggests we should take a different direction, then we are going to stay put. I don't feel as threatened anymore by the fact that we are having to wait.
2. Also, I read something in my Bible study today that was very exciting. It says in Amos 3:7, "For the LORD GOD does nothing without first revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." And the text note for that verse says, "The God who acts also reveals himself and interprets HIs actions to and through the prophets." Abraham was considered God's first prophet. He and every one thereafter were told God's "secrets" and then basically had to sit on it. I mean, they did speak the prophecies to God's people, but there was ALWAYS a time where the prophecies would be "pending."
Now, I'm no prophet. But, this verse meant a lot to me. We believe that God has revealed his secret plan FOR us TO us - that we would welcome a child into our family through adoption. God has plans and He is the one who acts. AND, He reveals his secrets to his servants. That, in itself, is humbling. But also it seems there is significance in the fact that He reveals His secrets or plans, usually WAY before they come to pass. I could venture to guess at the purpose of this strategy, but for now it is comforting to me to think this time of waiting - between secret plans being revealed and secret plans coming to pass - is for a purpose. Not sure what the purpose is, exactly, but it's nice to know that Someone has a plan! ; )
P.S. I just think it is very interesting that many of the instances of people in the Bible who had to wait were waiting on a BABY (and babies of promise, no less). Think about it - Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Elizabeth (to name a few) and of course, the entire nation of Israel who waited for the Messiah baby. Hmmm.....
For those of you who are curious about what is going on (you are laying awake at night thinking about this, I know).... here's the scoop. There haven't really been many babies available for adoption through our agency this summer. In fact, until recently, there hadn't been any babies placed in our area through our agency. So, we're still "just waiting."
Anyway, I kind of unraveled several weeks ago and questioned the whole thing. Are we supposed to be adopting domestically, since there doesn't seem to be such an urgent need? Once I started questioning our specific choice of adoption paths, then I started also questioning the whole thing. It hasn't been pretty, let's just say that. I haven't wanted to post anything until either a) we got a baby or b) I could GET A GRIP and muster up some faith. I really started to question my own judgement in naming this blog "Believing is Seeing." Make a big deal about relying on faith - that's just inviting trouble, right?
Well, I'm 0 for 2. I decided to go ahead and post because I sense there is something significant about this time of waiting. Now, when I say there is something significant, I don't mean pleasant. I'm not lovin' it nor would I choose to still be waiting. I really want our baby to come. Our boys really want our baby to come. We are ready (or so we think). But, I don't want to overlook what God has purposed for this time of waiting.
When sharing my recent feelings of doubt about our adoption with a friend/mentor of mine, she suggested I do a study of people in the Bible who had to wait. I thought that was very insightful. So, I jumped right in. I started in Genesis. And, long about, OH Genesis TWELVE I found my first Bible person to study - Abraham. I am still studying Abraham's story as he waited for the promised son Isaac. I was reminded that it was more than fourteen years from the time God first promised Abraham a son to the time Isaac was born.
There's a lot I could tell you about my short time in this study. In fact, I just erased a paragraph of thoughts on one tangent that is not exactly relevant to my main point but was interesting none the less. (Curious, aren't you?) Here's what I am getting out of this study, overall.
1. God IS characterized by making people wait. Our six month adoption wait had caused me to start questioning what I believed God told us to do. We were called, through unique experiences and circumstances, to adopt domestically through our specific agency, to be open to either gender and any race, and to welcome the opportunity to have a level of openness with the baby's birth mom. I have been tempted to worry, what if we got it wrong and that's why there is a wait? (Then, I am saying that God is not able to effectively communicate His plan to us.) It just seemed that us having to wait was an indication that we were on the wrong adoption path, or that maybe were weren't called to adopt at all. But, after studying even just a bit of God's Word, I am seeing that making people wait is totally God's M O. More typically than not, people had to wait. Sometimes because of punishment (Israelites in the desert) sometimes for desires to be fulfilled (barren women crying out for a child) sometimes when promises were pending (Abraham and THE MESSIAH, for goodness sake!) and sometimes just because!
So, I have concluded that unless we have some strong evidence that suggests we should take a different direction, then we are going to stay put. I don't feel as threatened anymore by the fact that we are having to wait.
2. Also, I read something in my Bible study today that was very exciting. It says in Amos 3:7, "For the LORD GOD does nothing without first revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." And the text note for that verse says, "The God who acts also reveals himself and interprets HIs actions to and through the prophets." Abraham was considered God's first prophet. He and every one thereafter were told God's "secrets" and then basically had to sit on it. I mean, they did speak the prophecies to God's people, but there was ALWAYS a time where the prophecies would be "pending."
Now, I'm no prophet. But, this verse meant a lot to me. We believe that God has revealed his secret plan FOR us TO us - that we would welcome a child into our family through adoption. God has plans and He is the one who acts. AND, He reveals his secrets to his servants. That, in itself, is humbling. But also it seems there is significance in the fact that He reveals His secrets or plans, usually WAY before they come to pass. I could venture to guess at the purpose of this strategy, but for now it is comforting to me to think this time of waiting - between secret plans being revealed and secret plans coming to pass - is for a purpose. Not sure what the purpose is, exactly, but it's nice to know that Someone has a plan! ; )
P.S. I just think it is very interesting that many of the instances of people in the Bible who had to wait were waiting on a BABY (and babies of promise, no less). Think about it - Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, Elizabeth (to name a few) and of course, the entire nation of Israel who waited for the Messiah baby. Hmmm.....
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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