Harold B. Lee
If you've ever embarked on the journey of adoption (or, for that matter, tried to navigate your way through any paperwork jungle), then you know that that delays, 11th hour requirements, and fine print hold-ups, unfortunately, are the norm, not the exception. Our story is not unique.
Last Friday, despite originally being told otherwise, we found out that we have to have a homestudy before completing our adoption. Sigh. This would not be a big deal, except that we finally got a court date set (February 10th, yay!) and, more than likely, our homestudy will not be completed by that time, which means yet another delay. Furthermore, it's an unexpected blow to our already wounded budget. HOWEVER, the Lord is ever so faithful and we're choosing to trust Him to provide, in His own time, recognizing that His creativity far exceeds the rules of logic that we continuously try to impose on Him.
"Homestudy," what a funny word...what a scary thought! Are they going to inspect every nook and cranny of our house? Am I going to be evaluated on my cleanliness? Even scarier! Don't judge me. I'm trying to find balance in all areas of my life and, admittedly, this is an area that has suffered since my littles have arrived and even more so since I've started working part-time. I find, though, that I'm terribly sentimental about the whole idea. I've meandered through my home, room by room, and allowed myself to recall memory after memory.
Ms. Homestudy won't know that my sweet husband once tried to surprise me with a clean house, mopped the hall with furniture polish, and made it slicker than ice for a month. She won't know that the color of our dining room walls was once paw-printed all over the floor when our Great Dane marched her puppy self through my paint pan. She'll pass right by the place I was standing when I told Josh that Jocelyn was on the way and she won't know that before Aiden's room was decked-out with skull-and-crossbones and treasure chests it was my lovely, sophisticated, french-inspried guest room. She will never know that we spent our first few months sitting (and sometimes sleeping) on a foam mattress topper because we had no furniture or that the Great Vegetable Soup Stand-off of 2010 happened right here in this very living room (Abby, thanks for supporting me through that one!). She'll be unaware that, in this kitchen, I cooked my very first turkey or that Aiden & I pretend to be Buddy the Cake Boss and Julia Child, respectively, on a regular basis. Nope, this house, our first home, the place where we brought our babies home, feverishly prayed over big decisions, laughed, cried, slept, played, and settled will be just a house to her. Truth be told, I realize that it's just a thing and it's full of things...meaningless without the memories and emotions that give them value. Sometimes, though, our things can be reflective of our character and our values. I'm praying that Ms. Homestudy will leave our house confident that Josh and I are crazy about each other, madly in love with our babies, and that we desire to follow hard after the Lord all the days of our life. And, of course, that this will be the final step in completing the adoption of our sweet, sweet son.
If you've ever embarked on the journey of adoption (or, for that matter, tried to navigate your way through any paperwork jungle), then you know that that delays, 11th hour requirements, and fine print hold-ups, unfortunately, are the norm, not the exception. Our story is not unique.
Last Friday, despite originally being told otherwise, we found out that we have to have a homestudy before completing our adoption. Sigh. This would not be a big deal, except that we finally got a court date set (February 10th, yay!) and, more than likely, our homestudy will not be completed by that time, which means yet another delay. Furthermore, it's an unexpected blow to our already wounded budget. HOWEVER, the Lord is ever so faithful and we're choosing to trust Him to provide, in His own time, recognizing that His creativity far exceeds the rules of logic that we continuously try to impose on Him.
"Homestudy," what a funny word...what a scary thought! Are they going to inspect every nook and cranny of our house? Am I going to be evaluated on my cleanliness? Even scarier! Don't judge me. I'm trying to find balance in all areas of my life and, admittedly, this is an area that has suffered since my littles have arrived and even more so since I've started working part-time. I find, though, that I'm terribly sentimental about the whole idea. I've meandered through my home, room by room, and allowed myself to recall memory after memory.
Ms. Homestudy won't know that my sweet husband once tried to surprise me with a clean house, mopped the hall with furniture polish, and made it slicker than ice for a month. She won't know that the color of our dining room walls was once paw-printed all over the floor when our Great Dane marched her puppy self through my paint pan. She'll pass right by the place I was standing when I told Josh that Jocelyn was on the way and she won't know that before Aiden's room was decked-out with skull-and-crossbones and treasure chests it was my lovely, sophisticated, french-inspried guest room. She will never know that we spent our first few months sitting (and sometimes sleeping) on a foam mattress topper because we had no furniture or that the Great Vegetable Soup Stand-off of 2010 happened right here in this very living room (Abby, thanks for supporting me through that one!). She'll be unaware that, in this kitchen, I cooked my very first turkey or that Aiden & I pretend to be Buddy the Cake Boss and Julia Child, respectively, on a regular basis. Nope, this house, our first home, the place where we brought our babies home, feverishly prayed over big decisions, laughed, cried, slept, played, and settled will be just a house to her. Truth be told, I realize that it's just a thing and it's full of things...meaningless without the memories and emotions that give them value. Sometimes, though, our things can be reflective of our character and our values. I'm praying that Ms. Homestudy will leave our house confident that Josh and I are crazy about each other, madly in love with our babies, and that we desire to follow hard after the Lord all the days of our life. And, of course, that this will be the final step in completing the adoption of our sweet, sweet son.
