Moving Forward??

A very long waiting has ended with a step forward (maybe) but it feels more backward. Our agency in MN, after reviewing our homestudy, feels that we need to do more preparation for adopting an older child. If we were not sure of the direction God was leading us, the email from the agency definitely would have changed our mind. I think they use scare tactics to weed out the unsure!

We were instructed to read about five books, visit numerous websites, locate an ESL class in our area (which according to google.com does not exist), and talk with another family who has adopted an older child from Ethiopia. (They'll provide us with the contact.) After those steps are completed we need to, once again, fill out the second part of our application and re-submit it. This part of the application was specific to work done to prepare yourself and your family for the adoption of an older child. Apparently our first application was not very impressive!

All in all, it's amusing how giddy I was just to hear something and to be given something to do! It's amazing- with all God has been teaching me how impatient I still am and how much I still want to be doing something to make something else get done faster!

But oh- God is teaching me. The Beth Moore study on the book of Esther has been very, "for such a time as this" for me. In recent weeks we have been learning about a Reversal of Destiny, a time when God, through whatever means, takes us from the direction we were heading, picks us up, and turns us in a new direction! Our struggle with secondary infertility was definitely that moment and I'll never forget when I realized God was changing my direction-even if I didn't see it in "Beth Moore terms" at that time.

How thankful I am that He was willing to let my heart break so that I wouldn't miss out on His glorious plan for my life and the life of my family. My hearts deep prayer at this time is that there is a little girl in Ethiopia who is about to have her own reversal of destiny, and that even with all the negativity the agency is pushing on us about the hardships of adopting an older child, that God will be glorified and His precious Son exalted through this experience.

Please be praying for patience-still, discipline in reading, a pleasant contact experience with another family who has adopted from Ethiopia, and a good report on our second try at impressing the agency with all our prep to adopt an older child! On a more specific note, Jeremy and I would really like my dad to travel to Ethiopia with us- we have not presented this to him for many reasons and I would really appreciate your prayers that he would agree and that there would be the finances available for him to do so.

All praise to Jesus!