Type A Mom vs. International Adoption: Round 3

As a former teacher, I've always enjoyed back-to-school time. Maybe it's the excitment of getting back into my classroom and starting over again, having a chance to try something different than the previous year, with the hopes it will turn out better than the previous year. Maybe it's the excitement of a change of pace. Even though I don't find myself teaching in a school setting any longer, I still enjoy the excitement of back-to-school time, and I am all geared up for learning and teaching my children at home this year.

The season change from summer to fall comes with a marked change of weather here in MN and for some reason I am finding myself a little sad as summer winds down and the evenings are beginning to feel more like fall. I like to start any new season of life prepared and organized, and yet as we venture into this fall we aren't even sure what is ahead. So, while I'm excited for all the possibilities, I am wanting to be even more excited, wishing that I knew specifics so that I could plan for those possibilities. Hence, Type A Mom vs. International Adoption: round 3. You would think that I would have learned something from the first two rounds about patiently waiting on God's perfect timing as well as trusting Him for His perfect provision for all of our needs. But it seems I have forgotten a thing or two and this waiting period is a great time for a refresher course for Type A Mom here. I will take better notes this time.

The good news is that even though we don't have any news on our adoption from the officials in Colombia, the waiting time at home has been precious. I have found myself preparing for the arrival of our new children by pouring into the hearts and lives of our two children at home, hoping they will understand a little about what is going to change in their lives and praying that God will prepare them fully, as I can only prepare them so much. I am blessed every day to hear our young children spontaneously talking about and praying for their other brothers and sisters in Colombia. If you were listening outside our home you might think they already knew these other brothers and sisters with the way they talk about them. I know that God is at work preparing their hearts and that has been our prayer all along.

Finding that these days of preparation at home have been very precious and realizing that our future with the new children is completely unknown to us (but trusting that it is well known to our Heavenly Father), I have been less inclined to spend my time on committments outside our home. I have been relishing in the moments we have had at home, and the rest of the world seems to have escaped me this summer. So, if I've been meaning to call you back (which only happens at nap time) and it hasn't happened yet, I'm so sorry. I'm getting there. It's just taking me a little longer than I planned.

Type A Mom's lesson of the day: There is a difficult balance to find between waiting and preparing, and any adoptive mom who needs to pass a psych eval in order to adopt might be pushed to the brink without the surpassing peace of Christ!