I didn't realize...

I didn’t realize how in such a short period of time, how much this adoption would change me.  I have been preparing myself for the “hurry up to wait” process that I’ve read so much about.  The agencies that have sent me information that prepares adoptive families for this.  What I didn’t expect was how defensive I would become towards a little child who I have never met.  I didn’t expect to be a ball bag of tears in church almost every Sunday because our Pastor seems to be preaching to the hardships we are facing right now.

Not everyone will agree with our decision to adopt, not everyone will see our “vision” of adding to our family.  Not everyone has felt the weight on their hearts to add to their family this way.  So as my sister in law says W.O.W.  “With or Without” you, we will do this.  We will do this because this is what God has chosen for our family.  We will do this because for every 1 person that doubts us, there are 10 that lift us up in praise.  For every 1 person who doesn’t understand why we are fundraising, there are 10 people who give freely because they believe in us.

Nothing good comes easy or quickly, so I’ve embraced the time and effort my husband and I have put into spending every Sunday after church wheeling our giant cart through Sam’s to re-stock our cabinet.  And then driving to the school and unloading our loot to organize and be ready for the next week’s sales.  I’ve embraced scouring the internet for the best deal on bracelets and other fundraising ideas.  I’ve embraced emailing all of my friends individually asking them to purchase a t-shirt or just simply spread the word about what we are doing.  I’ve (grudgingly) embraced staying up late almost every night to bake, cut and package brownies for Tommy to sell in his room.  We’ve sacrificed our time away from “quality family time” to make this sacrifice for a little one who will join our family, who we’ve never even met.  If that’s not FAITH, I’m not sure what is.

And to the people who might not understand why we are so passionate about this but still choose to support us, I want to specifically say thank you so much!  Thank you so much to all the people who have sent me cards or wrote me notes that were included in their payment for their t-shirts or other things.  I read them often when I’m having a bad day, and I’m sure they will come in handy in the future while we sit and wait.

And to the people who don’t understand and don’t support or feel entitled to a piece of the pie…I will pray that God softens your hearts and opens your eyes to what an impact they could make!