Timing is Everything

I am learning bit by bit that GOD'S timing is everything. 

This adoption process and the way God has added children to our family has proved this to me over and over and over again.

There were many times that I felt things were moving way too slow. 

Waiting for several steps in our adoption process took longer than expected. No surprise there. Even though you know that "timelines" are just a guesstimate and that everything could change in a moment's notice, or with no notice at all . . . it still frustrates you. You know that's what you signed up for. You know you're doing this because it's the journey God invited you on. You know he could do it all without you but that you're blessed that he allows you to be a part of it. A tiny part of something so, so much bigger than yourselves. But still there are periods of discouragement and fear. Satan sure likes to use discouragement and fear in the waiting. 

And then things start moving and when they move, they move . . . fast. And then eventually you have time to look back and God's timing drops you to the ground in complete awe. Realizing that he had it planned perfectly. Every step synchronized and organized just right. 

Let me show you what I mean.

We submitted our dossier to Russia in fall of 2011. That's all the paperwork to apply to adopt from a foreign country. 

Then we waited. Hoping to travel before spring when farming work gets busy and plane tickets and hotels get much more expensive. 

Then February hit and there was a major slowdown in Russia. Major. More waiting. I remember telling Ryan I was glad we hadn't met our child yet so we didn't have to wonder if we would get to bring him home. It was rough. The unknowns are scary. And I was't too happy about this timing not working out the way I thought it should.

In the summer I talked to our agency rep and we basically decided that we might as well take a vacation because things were moving slow and even if something happened we'd still have a wait. So take a break and vacation. And that's what we did. I remember thinking I should be enjoying the time off - the lack of much responsibility. But I'm not so good at that, because I was too busy being impatient. Silly me.

The pause in Russian adoptions began to be resolved on July 10. We got a phone call on July 18. A little GIRL was waiting for us. We were so surprised and having a hard time wrapping our heads around the idea of a girl. We had been told there was a 95% chance you'd get a boy if you said either gender so we had decided we'd just go ahead and be in charge of something and say boy. At least we'd know something. Ha ha - I'm sure that's when God snickered and said we'll see about that. But we were so excited about HER. And looking back now, I'm so glad we got Karina and they did not wait for a boy to become available. For a whole lot of reasons. Karina was supposed to be with us. God knew that even if we tried to make other plans.

So we traveled and I've got lots more to share about that later. But here's what I really want to show you. None of our dates were insignificant. They never are - but these are especially significant.

We passed court on November 2 (the day Ryan and I started "officially" dating 12 years ago). Glad he didn't ask me if I wanted to date, get married, go to Russia in 12 years and stand before a judge making the case to adopt a little girl. I'm not sure I would have said yes to him, but oh what we would have missed out on. Thankfully we don't know all that stuff ahead of time - but just the little bits at a time that we're capable of handling. 

The Monday before we left for our last trip to Russia, rumors started flying about a ban on Russian adoptions to the U.S. In the days following we prayed our hearts out for all the kids and families and watched in dismay as things progressed and the bill moved up through the channels in the Russian government. In the middle of all that, we were told that we "should be fine" because of how far we were in the process. But it still felt unsure and we could hardly wait to have Karina home. As things progressed it appeared that we should be out of the country before any ban could become official, and our adoption was already technically final and we were just waiting for paperwork. So we traveled as planned. 

We picked up Karina from the orphanage on Christmas Day. So her Gotcha Day is Christmas Day.

We traveled home on Karina's first birthday, December 28. As we rode to the airport we chatted with our driver and he couldn't see how Putin would sign the ban for so many reasons. But when we handed off the famous yellow packet at immigration after we landed in the U.S., we learned that while we had been flying the ban had become law. Our hearts dropped. So sad for kids and for families in process. Our excitement at Karina being home in America was mixed with such sadness. For all those we left behind. We so much wanted to bring them all home.

I have thought lately about how our process just fit in between the slow down and ban. And how close - just how crazy close - we were to having serious issues with getting Karina home because of the ban.

Russia doesn't celebrate Christmas; they celebrate New Year's from December 30 through the middle of January. So unless you did Embassy the day after we did, you had to wait until the middle of January to do anything . . . or find out just how the ban details were going to work and effect those still in process. What an excruciating wait that must have been. 

Just yesterday we got word from our agency that those families that passed court before the end of the year will be able to complete their adoptions. Even so there are still papers to get, passports to be issued - and hopefully Russia goes ahead and does what they say they will and those families get their kids home in a timely manner. There were reports of difficulties getting all the final documents by families in recent days. 

The rest of the adoptions in process don't seem to have much of a chance. My heart goes out to all the children and families - the kids that met their families but hadn't gotten a court date yet. The families that started falling in love with a picture but never got to meet the child. The families that had been waiting for that exciting phone call and first glimpse of their child. I am praying hard too that Russian families will be more aware and willing to adopt and foster the children. There has been a movement the last few years and Russian nationals and especially Russian Christians are stepping up and caring more for their orphans. Praying that God uses them hugely in the lives of these little ones.

So today I am reminded that God is in it all. His timing is perfect. His timing is everything. He is everything. When it's so obvious AND when we can't seem to see it at all.