Waiting For A Lifetime

If you were to judge this blog based solely on the title, it might seem as if I'm lamenting or complaining. For those who know me, this would not be completely out of character for me. However, in this regard, this is a statement of eager anticipation. Read on for an explanation.

Perhaps a bit of background would be appropriate. Anita and I have been married for almost 13 years now, and after years of unsuccessful tries to start a family, we decided to explore the possibility of adoption. After a lot of prayer, we chose to explore an international adoption from China. So, we began the process in 2006, getting all our paperwork together, home study after home study, getting fingerprinted, having criminal checks done, basically putting every detail of our lives down on paper for months at a time. It was a long, drawn-out, intrusive process. At times, I had to wonder if this was really the way to go. But we stuck with it and in the late summer of 2007, we submitted our dossier to the Chinese Consulate. Thus began the first part of our waiting game.

Months and months had gone by, with no news of any kind. When we first started looking into this, the average wait time from dossier submission to travel was 12 - 14 months. By the time we submitted our dossier, the wait had increased to 24 months. By the time we were logged in in China, the wait was over 30 months. As of this writing, the average wait is 36 months. It appeared that we would be waiting, virtually for a lifetime!

So, after more prayer and conversations with our families and friends, we decided to explore the possibility of adopting a child with special needs. While this would possibly speed things up for us, it would require us to be willing to accept a child with any number of physical and emotional needs. This decision was a struggle, but we were fortunate in that we were allowed to 'pick' what special needs we were willing to accept. So, after praying some more, we chose a very short of list of minor correctable conditions that we felt we could handle. And, once again, in late April 2009, we filed more paperwork and sent it off. Now the waiting game was completely in God's hands.

And, as God often does, He surprised us beyond anything we could have hoped for or imagined! On June 3rd, 2009, we received a call from our agency saying that there was a little boy waiting for his forever home, and we had been matched up with him! I sat at work in stunned silence. I didn't know what to say. I never once thought we would get a referral within 6 weeks of submitting the paperwork. This waiting game that once looked so daunting was suddenly...gone! We were going to have a son!

So, as I write this, there is more to be done - more paperwork, more planning, more housekeeping, and a little more waiting. But now we are waiting for a lifetime - the lifetime of our son. This is a waiting game that I am anticipating with all my heart and soul, and I thank God for His incredible blessings. The wait so far has been worth it, and I look forward to waiting for every second of what's to come!

I hope that as our journey continues, you will join us for the steps we take. We know that there is much to do, and many challenges ahead. But together, we will face them and continue to wait for a lifetime of joy and happiness.