I had planned to give up coffee for Lent. Then I decided to give up control instead. Coffee would have been easier.
Those of you have been following our "Prayers for Baby E" facebook group know that we received some news very early this morning. We count it as a miracle that we were able to correspond so quickly and easily with the US Embassy, but our hearts are torn by what they told us. The 60 day window for making a determination on our case has passed, but the processing is on hold. Everything will remain at a complete standstill until our 2 corrected documents (which we requested 5 weeks ago) are received by the Embassy. We have no idea how much longer this will take, and there is no way to find out. There is nothing that we can do to speed things up, and there is no way to know how much longer the processing will last after the documents are delivered.
I've made it through 6/40 days of Lent [and an ungodly amount of coffee] so far and have consciously tried to give up control in one area of my life -- this journey in particular -- each day. Today, it's the paperwork. The old me would have been a stressed out, irritable, hyperactive, hot mess over the news that we received this morning. The new me still is...but the first step is acknowledging it, right?
Instead of trying to control things that are beyond our grasp (literally), we are choosing to believe that GOD IS ABLE. On a head level, we are choosing to believe that those documents will be printed correctly, delivered, and received very soon. We are choosing to believe that the Embassy will resume their processing immediately upon receipt of the documents and that they will make a final and favorable determination on our case quickly. We have been praying the same prayers for over a month now, but we know that they are still being heard and that God's promises will not return void.
On a heart level, we're claiming the chorus of this song and are praying these words until we can find our own.
I've made it through 6/40 days of Lent [and an ungodly amount of coffee] so far and have consciously tried to give up control in one area of my life -- this journey in particular -- each day. Today, it's the paperwork. The old me would have been a stressed out, irritable, hyperactive, hot mess over the news that we received this morning. The new me still is...but the first step is acknowledging it, right?
Instead of trying to control things that are beyond our grasp (literally), we are choosing to believe that GOD IS ABLE. On a head level, we are choosing to believe that those documents will be printed correctly, delivered, and received very soon. We are choosing to believe that the Embassy will resume their processing immediately upon receipt of the documents and that they will make a final and favorable determination on our case quickly. We have been praying the same prayers for over a month now, but we know that they are still being heard and that God's promises will not return void.
On a heart level, we're claiming the chorus of this song and are praying these words until we can find our own.
"Let me see redemption win
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart
That’s frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause I’m worn"
Let me know the struggle ends
That you can mend a heart
That’s frail and torn
I wanna know a song can rise
From the ashes of a broken life
And all that’s dead inside can be reborn
Cause I’m worn"
Thanks for sticking with us.
*Update: Shortly after posting this, we learned that letting go of control also meant listening when God revealed to us -- in multiple ways -- that we should postpone my trip to Ghana. It was an incredibly difficult decision, but I am feeling great peace over leaving on March 3 rather than February 22. Please continue to pray for our hearts as we wait and anticipate all that God is going to do.
*Update: Shortly after posting this, we learned that letting go of control also meant listening when God revealed to us -- in multiple ways -- that we should postpone my trip to Ghana. It was an incredibly difficult decision, but I am feeling great peace over leaving on March 3 rather than February 22. Please continue to pray for our hearts as we wait and anticipate all that God is going to do.