Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Journey of Becoming.

I just (finally!) got Caroline Faith down for a nap, and had a chance to read chapter 10 of "All In", the book by Mark Batterson that Jody and I are reading together.  I was so struck by something he said, and I hope the Lord will use it to encourage you today.

I know a lot of ya'll are waiting adoptive mamas, and some of ya'll are just in seasons of waiting in general.  This is what he said that I thought was so profound, and we found to be so true in our long season of waiting on Caroline Faith.

He is talking about the story of Noah taking that crazy step of faith and in obedience building that huge ark in the middle of the desert.   Batterson says, "No matter what vision God has given you, I can predict it will take longer and be harder that you ever imagined."

Can I get an "Amen"!?!  This was definitely true of our adoption journey.  It took way way WAY longer than we ever thought, and was harder than I ever imagined it would be.

I started the adoption journey back in the spring of 2010 on "adoption cloud 9" with a passion and excitement that I could barely contain.  And by the spring of 2013, right before our referral of Caroline Faith, I was broken before the Lord.  I was walking in daily (no really minute by minute!) dependence on Him to carry me.  My faith was stronger than ever, but I had finally realized my weakness.  And that only through HIM, I am made strong.  We were praying for a miracle, not sure of how God would answer but resting in His presence.

And here is what I really love that Batterson says, "Going all out for God is not just about getting where God wants you to go.  It's about who you become in the process.  And it's not about how quickly you get there.  It's about how far you go."

Amen!!!  This is so true!  I have said it many times before, but that is something that surprised us along the way in our adoption journey.  Our adoption journey was not just about bringing Caroline Faith into our family, although that was what God initially asked of us.  Our journey turned into a "waiting on the Lord journey".  It was a journey of becoming.

Through a very hard, long and refining wait, which required us to be in the Word and depend on the Lord like never before, we were in the journey of becoming who He wanted us to be.  The journey of becoming more like Him.  We still have a LONG way to go, but I am convinced He used the wait to grow some things in us that we are now using as we parent our four children.  And some things that we needed to grow in as we navigate through this whole season of bonding and attaching with Caroline Faith.

Hang in there as you are waiting on the Lord!  Stay faithful and obedient!   I know the journey doesn't look like you thought it would.  I totally get it.  But this is how God always planned it, and He knows who we need to become and how far we need to go.

Ethiopian Christmas celebration pictures to come soon!!!

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;  the Lord bestows favor and honor.  No good thing does He withold from those who walk uprightly."
Psalm 84:11

3 comments:

Kristen [Teamfuest] said...

Thank you for this. It's like that quote took the thoughts right out of my head and put them so perfectly into words. It's a journey about becoming, and I'm identifying with that more and more each day/week/month/year.

Lauren and Nick Miller said...

Loved this post Alison! SO true in every single way.

Laura said...

You have no idea how much I needed to read this today. Not words that are easy to hear when you are almost two years into an adoption process (you totally get that, I know), but so so true. Thank you.