Well folks, the paperwork is done!!! Whew...so glad that is over with! The home study is just about complete. We had our final "in-home visit" last week and while it was a little nerve wrecking to sit and answer such detailed questions on the spot, overall, it went quite well! I have to brag on my dear husband for a minute- Tricia, our social worker, asked some very difficult questions and when I hesitated with an answer, there was Phillip stepping up with responses that had me smiling from ear to ear; not to mention, he even surprised the social worker. She often replied with "excellent answer"! I couldn't be more proud of how he rocked that interview! We are now waiting on Tricia to finish writing the study and then we enter the waiting period!
Since it was before Christmas that I posted last, I wanted to share some of the awesome gifts we received this year! We received our first items for baby Merritt- first outfit from our Colorado family and first book from a sweet new friend from work! Thank you so much Bryan & Carmen Merritt and Summer Dean for your thoughtfulness!
It is starting to get real that hopefully by Christmas 2015, we will have a new member of our family. This is a time of great anticipation! We are excited to see how The Lord works in bringing this child into our lives. We know that there is the potential for great heartache, but, also great joy! We are completely depending on our Sovereign Lord to work. If we depend on ourselves, we could not get through this and would fail miserably! The Lord has already provided so many resources in the many friends that have done this before us. They have loads of knowledge and advice to share! We also have a wonderful counselor in our consultant Susan, who is there to guide us step by step along the way. We are so thankful for these people in our lives that we can lean on when times get tough and who can relate in our joys!
As we enter this time of waiting, it is easy to get caught up in the "time"- Is it going to be short? Is it going to be long? How long? What if it is very long? It will be easy to become discontent and try on our own to do things our own way to speed things up. It will be easy to settle for what we may not be comfortable with because, well, "It's taking too long"; on the other hand, if the waiting period is short, it will be easy to get overwhelmed and worry that we are not prepared. These are all things that we struggle with because we are human and we are weak. I am thankful that our Lord knows that and He has given us His word to cling to in times like these! Here are a few verses that we will have posted around our house to remind us of His great love and promises.
Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him...
Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
The story of Hannah-1Samuel 1:27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him.
*Side note- The title of my blog post comes from a song that is often in my thoughts and a song I refer to often when in need of encouragement. It you have never heard it, check out "Sovereign Over Us" by Aaron Keyes.
Until next time...
