Romans 8

We have been reading St. Paul's letter to the Romans the last couple weeks at daily Mass. Today's excerpt was as follows, from chapter 8:

"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation
waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation
was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who
subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its
bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning with labor pains together
until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope
that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we
hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

You know those times when you are there in church and the readings are speaking to you, and well, it's nice that there are other people there to hear it, but that is was really just for you? Yesterday's reading was the previous section in Romans 8 about the Spirit of God, the spirit of adoption, the spirit of sonship, and being children of God and heirs of God, and fellow heirs of Christ, provided we suffer with him. And then we had the passage from Psalm 68, also in yesterday's readings: "The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling." So, I basically have had that feeling for two days straight that the readings were for me.

There is so much running through my mind about this that I hope I can be somewhat coherent. The road to adoption definitely has a lot of groaning involved. I have often said that international adoption is not for the faint of heart! Obviously there's all the paperwork and the cost and the waiting. There's also that angst knowing that the children that are going to join your family are suffering, and you want to do something about it right now. Not to mention all those other children that may never have their own family.

And yet, back to patience and trusting in God. Lately, the passage from the gospel "Lord, increase our faith," has really been on my mind. Like the apostles, I ask God to increase our faith. I have faith that it is all going to work out in the end, and that all this time up until our referral is not just waiting around twiddling my thumbs time, but is active growing and learning time. And I have faith that this growing and learning is happening not just in my life, but also in the lives of the rest of my family, our children in Honduras, their caretakers, their birth families, etc. Still, I ask God to lead us deeper where he wants us to be and to see those things that we still don't see and to just keep plugging ahead on this journey. All for His greater glory.

Because really, when you come down to it, life is not for the faint of heart.

Fun, Music, and a Great Cause

There are lots of things we love about our adoption agency, Dillon International: their decades of experience, their professionalism, their caring support to families before, during, and after the adoption process, and their attention to those kids that will never have a family of their own, through their arm Orphancare International.

Please consider supporting them in a couple ways that you will greatly benefit from as well.

First, Dillon is hosting a trivia night/auction on Saturday November 12th at Shrewsbury City Center, 5200 Shrewsbury Ave. Doors open at 6 pm and trivia starts at 7. The cost is $20 a person/$160 a table. Reserve your spot by contacting dillonmo@dillonadopt.com or 314-576-4100. There are cash prizes, raffles, and door prizes; complimentary iced tea, beer, and light snacks; and you can bring other food, drinks, or alcohol. A lot of fun for just twenty bucks. Or $300 gets you a VIP table with wine, dessert, and trivia round sponsorship.

Here's the other way: Mike Silverman, Grammy-winning jazz musician, fellow Webster Groves resident, fellow Dillon adoptive parent, and really nice guy is composing and recording a piece in honor of the world's orphaned children. Called "Until Every Child Has a Home," it will be available probably in December. All proceeds from iTunes downloads of the piece will be donated to Dillon International. I can't wait to hear it -- I'm sure it will be wonderful!

Thanks for reading this!

What God is Teaching Me This Time Around

I consider myself a late bloomer. Some lessons take a long time for me to get. For example, learning patience and trusting in God. Had you asked me ten years ago, "Do you trust God?" I would have responded, "Yes." And I did. But I tell you, I trust Him a bazillion times more now. Not just in a "Don't be afraid. I've got your back," kind of way, but in an "I've got plans to prosper you, not harm you" way. I trust that God is constantly at work to bring about the best for all of us. That God draws straight with crooked lines and comes up with a masterpiece. I trust that God is so in love with me (and with all of us) that he will do (and has done) everything imaginable and everything possible to show me how much he loves me and to help me to trust Him more so that my life on earth will get more and more rooted in Him and that heaven will rock like nothing I can imagine. I trust that even when I think I am deep in Him that He's not even warmed up yet. I knew that God was trustworthy, but now every cell in my body knows it and proclaims it.

And patience? This has been one of my biggest struggles for years. I think it is my worst fault (though I would not be surprised to learn that I have more and bigger faults that I haven't even figured out yet -- remember, I'm a late bloomer). Anytime I am in confession, losing my patience is my go-to sin. Always at the top of my list. One time a few years ago, I was confessing losing my patience at this and that and the other thing. My pastor said a bunch of things, but one of the things that is imprinted in my memory is: keep working at it, don't be discouraged, and in time patience will be your joy. I probably sat there with my mouth open. Patience will be my joy?? Joy?? What in the world could that mean? I always thought being patient was just sitting and waiting calmly on the outside while inside you are just sort of counting to ten or biding your time in some way, enduring it, just to get to the point of whatever it is that you are waiting for. And then the light turns green and you drive on thinking "Whew. I'm glad that's over." It took me months after that conversation to even get that far in describing what I thought patience was. Now, I'm a bit farther along. Although I still do not think I am patient, I can see that God is using this third adoption to teach me that being patient has a lot to do with trusting Him and realizing that there is something that He is teaching me during the waiting time. The waiting is "on purpose." It's not just that I missed a green light and have to wait through the red for it to turn green again. God wants me to wait. I am just starting to realize that there is joy in the waiting. I don't always find it. In fact, I usually don't find it. But I realize (sometime it is after the fact) that there is joy there. Because God is there in the waiting.

I think of Advent too. How God waited until the exact perfect time to bring His Son into the world. How every year, we have the beautiful season of Advent to prepare for Christ's coming. Certainly to prepare to celebrate his coming at Christmas, and to remember how God acted throughout salvation history to prepare His people for Jesus' birth 2000 years ago. But also that Advent is a special time for us to prepare for receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and also to prepare for His coming at the end of time as well as the end of our own lives. And God is there in the waiting, loving us and acting in our lives.

And I think of how indescribably patient He is with me. He knows when I fall, and He still loves me. He knows when my intentions are good, and not so good, and He still loves me. He knows my struggles and my bad habits. He loves me no matter what I do, but He loves me too much to let me get away with bad choices. He knows that sometimes I have to hear or experience the same thing again and again and again, sometimes years apart, before it will really sink in. And like the perfect Father that He is, He knows that the lesson is learned so much better when I arrive at it when I am able to understand it.

I want to be like you.

Gee, You're Swell!

I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for all the lovin' that has been coming our way over the last few days. So many people have called or emailed or seen us at church or school and said how happy and excited they are for us, and that they will keep us in their prayers. Thank you so much for that! It really really means a lot. It is a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by so much love and support and prayer.

A few folks asked whether we hoped to adopt one or two additional children, and whether we could request a girl or a boy, or how it all worked. Glad you asked! We stated in our application that we were open to adopting one or two children. Our hearts want two (!!), but we're just not sure how it will all work out, and what child or children would be available at the time of our referral. Same thing on gender. We are open to either boys or girls, and we're just not sure which would be available at the time of our referral. It sounds rather crass to say "first available" when we're talking about children and not a table at a restaurant, but it's kind of like that. Honduras does allow families to specify whether they would like a boy or a girl, if there is a preference, but we thought we would leave it up to God.

We're at #15!

#15 on IHNFA's wait list, that is.  That's all we've got to report!  I wonder when it will be that we get our referral?  Are we days away?  Weeks?  Still months?