HOPE IN WAITING

     "The adoption was challenging - the LOVE arrive instantly." 

 

It has been almost three months since we were matched with "M."  Since our lives were completely turned upside down on May 15 (the day we were matched with the most beautiful little boy in all of India), it seems like we have waited far more than we have worked.  For the first month after being matched, we had nothing to do except to look at the two pictures that we had of "M" and wait.  As we looked at those pictures, we wondered what his smile would look like and what kind of personality he has. We wondered about how he is being cared for and if he is receiving love and attention.  Basically, we endlessly pondered questions that were not answered by two pictures.  We asked questions to ourselves, yet their was nothing but silence.

 

One month after being matched, the silence was broken by paperwork from the orphanage.  Although adoption paperwork does not make a sound, I can assure you that it causes those who fill them out to make many sounds - mainly screams and sobs!  We filled out the paperwork rather quickly and returned it to our agency, only to be led back to a place of waiting.  

 

Then two weeks ago, we received the packet that we were waiting for - "M's" dossier.  In it we were able to read his story...a story that by God's grace will eventually end in "M" having a family and the Strickland family having a son.  No matter how difficult it is for us to read his story, we do so with supernatural hope knowing that God is going to redeem his story.  For what the enemy meant for evil, God is working it for "M's" good and for ours. The dossier not only included his story and so many medical files, it also contained a few more pictures, AND A 14:42 VIDEO.  From this video, we are able to see the way that his caretakers interact with him and the way that he learns and plays.  We were also able to see his amazing smile.  We have probably watched that video over 100 times between the two of us and I'm sure we'll watch a lot more in the coming months.  

     One of "M's" Pictures

 

This all leads to the question that we are asked the most: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET HIM? Although I wish that we had an answer to that question, we don't.  We are praying and hoping that doors would open for us to get him before the end of this year, but that will not be up to us.  We would ask you to join us in praying for God's perfect timing for us and for "M."  All that we know is that we will continue to fill out every piece of paper and do anything that we are asked to do in hopes that we might be able to speed up this process.  We will do it all hoping that things will shortly begin to move in India and that we will eventually make it to the next step.  

 

Until then, we will continue to wait upon the Lord and know that He will hold and care for "M" until we are able to (and He won't stop just because we get him).  Although this process has not been easy, loving someone we've never met has been.  We are asking God to open up "M's" heart even now so that not only will he be able to receive the love that we have for him, but that he will one day be able to receive a greater love than what we could ever give him - the love of God.  Until all of these things become a reality, we will continue to wait and continue to hope.  In the words of the psalmist, "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?  My hope is in You" (Psalm 39:7).