Precious Papers
Dossier:
(a) One of those elusive words in the international adoption world that includes one syllable that sounds sophisticated and French because the 'r' is silent and the 'e' says 'a', but really it's
(b) One massive stack of paperwork wherein you become the most organized creature on the planet, compiling every ounce of marital, financial, physical health and mental stability certification and verification needed and then, after having each piece emblazoned with a golden seal that you traveled miles to obtain, you are forced to send it out into the world wanting nothing more than to hand deliver it to every stop it must make because this has become your "Precioussss" and no one else is responsible enough to touch it!
Okay, so maybe I don't quite look like Gollum just yet.....This, my friends, is what our dossier really does look like:
2013
According to our updated home study that's the first date that we contacted Lifeline about adopting.
In almost three years time, we have completed our home study and updated our home study. Every member of our family has had their physicals performed twice, and Michael and I have now been screened by a psychologist. (surprisingly, we even passed) We've obtained reference letters, family photos, birth certificates, marriage certificate, bank statements, passports, and even a membership to Sam's Club! (I needed a third photo ID for the dossier, and so we can now buy the biggest jug of laundry detergent available on the market along with 2-quart bottles of ketchup thanks to international adoption) Mike and I have read books, completed online training classes and passed all our Hague education classes.
But.....
If you feel like this adoption is taking forever, please know, I am right there with you. Just before our social worker called to let us know that the window had opened for us to file our dossier, I was sitting at lunch with my husband feeling very grumpy and very frustrated and said maybe we should just call this whole thing off. Maybe we should foster. Maybe we should just focus on missions.
Maybe we should nothing.
Comparison is often an ugly thing when it comes to our lives. Often times it breeds dissatisfaction and watching friends adopt their foster children, one family after another in our church come home with their sons and daughters from overseas, it just felt like we were not cut out for this calling.
We were failing at adoption before we even had a chance to really try.
I'd like to think that God is aware of just when His children have been pushed to the point of giving up, and in hopes of giving some encouragement, He lets you take a few more steps up the mountain you're trying to climb. Back in August, it felt as if He looked into my heart during that shared meal and knew just how very beat down I was, and He knew I needed to feel like we were getting somewhere.
Three years.
Throw me a line here, something, anything, help me feel like we have not been clinging to a plan that will end in emptiness.
Please, please, please, give me some hope.
So, when we received the call just days before the calendar turned to September, it seemed a little crazy to think we could get every last bit of paperwork completed, signed, sealed and delivered to the agency by October. The sands that had been sliding through the hourglass at the pace of a snail now seemed to be emptying into the bottom at an alarming speed. Could we really get everything we needed together in a month's time?
Yes, we did.
Just like when we decided to change from China to Haiti at God's urging, every last piece fell into place with very little effort from us. Items that had seemed overwhelming when I first looked at the paperwork requirement list were obtained easily. I resisted the urge to drive them to Birmingham, and while I would loved to have hand-delivered them to Haiti when I was there earlier this month, I had to rely on courier service to get my precious papers to their final destination.
Yesterday, I received word that our documents have landed safe and sound on Haitian soil. They were transcribed before they left the States, and so now they will need to be legalized and approved by the IBESR. Waiting for the thumbs up for them could take weeks, waiting for the government to then match our children with our family could take a year.
This is the walk we are on, each step of faith an opportunity to let go of control and to trust in the One who has brought us here. There are many days when it seems so long, though I know it is so very brief compared to the length of eternity. Then there are the days when I am reminded that God does it best, therefore I will refuse to give in to the urge to get something accomplished with my own will and strength. And while my heart grows tired from time to time, I will continue to wait for our little ones to come home.
(a) One of those elusive words in the international adoption world that includes one syllable that sounds sophisticated and French because the 'r' is silent and the 'e' says 'a', but really it's
(b) One massive stack of paperwork wherein you become the most organized creature on the planet, compiling every ounce of marital, financial, physical health and mental stability certification and verification needed and then, after having each piece emblazoned with a golden seal that you traveled miles to obtain, you are forced to send it out into the world wanting nothing more than to hand deliver it to every stop it must make because this has become your "Precioussss" and no one else is responsible enough to touch it!
Okay, so maybe I don't quite look like Gollum just yet.....This, my friends, is what our dossier really does look like:
2013
According to our updated home study that's the first date that we contacted Lifeline about adopting.
In almost three years time, we have completed our home study and updated our home study. Every member of our family has had their physicals performed twice, and Michael and I have now been screened by a psychologist. (surprisingly, we even passed) We've obtained reference letters, family photos, birth certificates, marriage certificate, bank statements, passports, and even a membership to Sam's Club! (I needed a third photo ID for the dossier, and so we can now buy the biggest jug of laundry detergent available on the market along with 2-quart bottles of ketchup thanks to international adoption) Mike and I have read books, completed online training classes and passed all our Hague education classes.
But.....
If you feel like this adoption is taking forever, please know, I am right there with you. Just before our social worker called to let us know that the window had opened for us to file our dossier, I was sitting at lunch with my husband feeling very grumpy and very frustrated and said maybe we should just call this whole thing off. Maybe we should foster. Maybe we should just focus on missions.
Maybe we should nothing.
Comparison is often an ugly thing when it comes to our lives. Often times it breeds dissatisfaction and watching friends adopt their foster children, one family after another in our church come home with their sons and daughters from overseas, it just felt like we were not cut out for this calling.
We were failing at adoption before we even had a chance to really try.
I'd like to think that God is aware of just when His children have been pushed to the point of giving up, and in hopes of giving some encouragement, He lets you take a few more steps up the mountain you're trying to climb. Back in August, it felt as if He looked into my heart during that shared meal and knew just how very beat down I was, and He knew I needed to feel like we were getting somewhere.
Three years.
Throw me a line here, something, anything, help me feel like we have not been clinging to a plan that will end in emptiness.
Please, please, please, give me some hope.
So, when we received the call just days before the calendar turned to September, it seemed a little crazy to think we could get every last bit of paperwork completed, signed, sealed and delivered to the agency by October. The sands that had been sliding through the hourglass at the pace of a snail now seemed to be emptying into the bottom at an alarming speed. Could we really get everything we needed together in a month's time?
Yes, we did.
Just like when we decided to change from China to Haiti at God's urging, every last piece fell into place with very little effort from us. Items that had seemed overwhelming when I first looked at the paperwork requirement list were obtained easily. I resisted the urge to drive them to Birmingham, and while I would loved to have hand-delivered them to Haiti when I was there earlier this month, I had to rely on courier service to get my precious papers to their final destination.
Yesterday, I received word that our documents have landed safe and sound on Haitian soil. They were transcribed before they left the States, and so now they will need to be legalized and approved by the IBESR. Waiting for the thumbs up for them could take weeks, waiting for the government to then match our children with our family could take a year.
This is the walk we are on, each step of faith an opportunity to let go of control and to trust in the One who has brought us here. There are many days when it seems so long, though I know it is so very brief compared to the length of eternity. Then there are the days when I am reminded that God does it best, therefore I will refuse to give in to the urge to get something accomplished with my own will and strength. And while my heart grows tired from time to time, I will continue to wait for our little ones to come home.
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