A year and a half

A year and a half ago today I committed to adopt and bring home a little girl from Russia. Little did I know the journey I would go on. I think it is amazing that today God used this passage from Our Daily Bread to encourage me.

Dealing With Delay

In April 2010, clouds of ash spewed by a volcano in Iceland closed airports across the UK and Europe for 5 days. Nearly 100,000 flights were canceled and millions of passengers around the world found themselves in an enormous holding pattern on the ground. People missed important events, businesses lost money, and no one knew when it would end.

When our plans fall apart and there is no remedy, how do we deal with frustration and delay? Isaiah 26:3-4 is an anchor for our souls in every storm of life: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in (Jehovah), the Lord is everlasting strength." Whether we're facing annoying inconvenience or heartbreaking loss, this rock-solid promise is worth memorizing and repeating every night when we close our eyes to sleep.

Today, when plans are shattered, do our minds dwell on the circumstances or on the Lord? During frustrating delay, can we still trust the loving heart of God? In the hymn "Like a River Glorious," Frances Havergal so beautifully expressed what we long for. -David McCasland

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,

Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;

Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,

Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,

Finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.__Havergal

I remember how devastated I was when my adoption suffered it's first major delay when a child was sent back to Russia alone. Sadness overwhelmed me at times and I spent much time searching for the answer that would explain how someone could be so irresponsible and cause so much damage to so many people, to so many children not to mention her own adopted child.

I also remember thinking how I could have been stuck in Russia during the very time referenced here. How devastated that I would have been if I had been stuck overseas when this volcano blew it's top and so many people had to find new plans as they dealt with their delay. I remember thanking God that I didn't have to deal with that sort of delay.

Then during another time of waiting, I remember praising God that I was home safe as a room in the Moscow airport was bombed. The same room I had been in just a few months earlier and if I had gotten my way, could have been in at the time of the bombing.

So now, as I sit yet again for another delay, I am here asking God to help me see the reason that I am waiting again and see what He wants me to learn from this. Undoubtedly, I am learning to look to God through this process.

I know that God has His reasons for the delays and I'm trying to keep my eyes focused on Him. Sometimes I fail at it and sometimes I don't get the lesson until after the fact, but God is faithful and Gracie will come home. And in the meantime, I pray that I use this time well and that God will gently remind me to keep my eyes on Him.