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Our family started the adoption process 14 months ago. We are still waiting for our baby to join our family. We have put in our names for a baby 5 times in the last 3 months, only to have the birth Mom choose another family. The last time we had only a week from when we requested our profile to be shown to the birth Mother to the time the baby was scheduled to be born, so the kids and I did some shopping, just in case. We bought diapers, teeny tiny socks, a soft elephant rattle and a diaper bag. We looked at different bottles and I made a colorful hat to bring "baby sister" home in.  The day after we were shopping we got the text "she chose a different family" And we're back to looking at a wait that could stretch from 1 week to 2 years or maybe even beyond. And I worry. I worry about our 3 year old's little heart. Although she doesn't technically know we're adopting, she's been planning {planning, not asking!} on a baby sister for over a year now. I didn't have the choice to not take her shopping for baby stuff last week, so her little hopes were probably soaring that baby sister is coming soon. I worry that the age gap between our youngest and our baby will be much longer than we planned or wanted. Waiting is simply not my strong point. At all. In fact, I'm afraid that's an understatement. I have bought into the idea of "instant everything" that is so prevalent in the world today. Some days I even feel like God owes instant gratification to our "noble" dream of adoption. {as if!} But today God has given me peace. He has been working in my heart for several weeks now and the pieces are finally starting to come together in my mind. I have been planning to have a giant decal made to put on the wall above our baby's crib with a very special Bible verse. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart." Jeremiah 1:5 When I was thinking about it today it hit me: All my worrying, all my impatient waiting, all my antsy thinking cannot change anything. Not a thing! That verse is not simply a sweet saying to put on a nursery wall. It is the truth. Our baby is already chosen, set apart for our family! All we really need to do is worship while we wait for God's perfect plan to unfold. That thought sounds so cliche that I kind of rejected it the last while, even while God has been putting worship on my heart as a very high priority. But God showed me today in the midst of worry and impatience about our adoption, plus exhaustion and extra work that true peace and rest are to be found in simply worshiping HIM.  So today, let's choose worship. I don't know what circumstances you're facing that might be causing an uncomfortable wait, but I think we all have one, to some point. Maybe you're waiting to get married, waiting for your due date or simply waiting for Spring! Whatever it is, pick worship as your companion and ally. Listen to worship music, listen to a Bible recording, sing a song, play an instrument, read the Psalms or write down parts of your favorite worship song or praise chapter somewhere that you can see it. Or maybe even splurge and buy that inspirational print or printable on Etsy that you've had your eye on. Do what it takes, in a way that encourages your heart and choose to worship today. And can I just say this? Choose deep worship. Choose worship songs that get to the heart of the matter and portray a strong choice to praise God, no matter what. Not just songs that can become mindless repetitions, but songs that reach deep into your soul and bring out a spirit of true heart worship. You know? What are your favorite ways to worship?  This is the first part in a mini-series on choosing worship. Stay tuned for the next post! :) If you liked this post you might like these:
8 Comments
3/15/2016 07:10:17 pm
I can be so hard to wait, particularly on something so close to your heart as a baby! When we choose to trust, worship and rest, we can change the patterns of our thoughts. I am also waiting for an adoption but our baby is already in our home. We are adopting through foster care. The wait is different but still hard. When the social worker comes to visit and asks if I have any questions it's always the same one, "When will it be final???" And there's never a clear answer. I am choosing to worship in this time as well. Though we anxiously await the day she is forever ours, for now being in the foster care system has given us access to help and support we and our youngest need and God has the perfect time already arranged. My favorite form of worship is definitely singing along to worship music while I clean house! 3/16/2016 02:00:01 pm
I once read that worrying is like living the worst possible experience in your mind even before you might live it in reality. (And, thankfully, our worries don't always materialize into reality, so whew!) 3/17/2016 10:33:57 am
Waiting does cause me worry. I love your point here to worship. I am so musical and I actually feel closest to God when engaged in singing songs of praise to Him. I often combat worry and stress through song and worship. So many emotions and heart growth come in these waiting times, Stephanie. I know how hard they can be and how many times we question our own choices and the affect on our kids. I can tell you from experience that my kids became more willing to love the little ones sent (or not sent) to us through the whole process (ours was foreign which never happened and foster) even when we had some who came and then had to say good bye. God's timing is perfect and His ways higher than ours. May He continue to sustain you as you wait. Worshipping God through it all is the best way to keep all hearts, little and big, together. 3/17/2016 12:36:14 pm
Stefani, I love how God leads you to write words that my heart needs to hear. Okay, I know it's not just for me, but it can feel so sometimes. :-) Oh waiting...it comes to us all. I feel sometimes like I can not wait another minute and then God has me wait years and years. I know that he is developing in me patience and maturity through it. He can see what we can't. I have come to learn that his plans are always better but I still have a long way to go laying my worries and cares at his feet. I had a difficult week and before I even knew what was going to happen I had ordered a worship cd(Audry Assad/ fortunate fall) the week before. It has truly been a blessing to me and helped me keep my eyes on the Lord! Praying God answers your prayers in his timing! xoxo Leave a Reply. |
I am on a journey to know Jesus better, and be the wife, mommy and friend that God created me to be, all within the walls of my own little home. <3
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