Thankfulness
Wow! First of all, I am sorry I have been such a blog slacker. Life has been rather chaotic lately.
As you know, the month of November is a time of year where people express their thankfulness maybe a little more often than other times of the year. People do the daily thankful post on Facebook, they may sit around the dinner table and talk about what they are thankful for, and a wide variety of other ways to show their gratitude.
At first glance and looking at where we are in the adoption process there can seem very little to be thankful for, but as I look deeper into what we have learned throughout this year, we have so much to be thankful for.
1. We cannot be more thankful for the friends and family who have stood with us as we stepped into this crazy journey. You have prayed for us, encouraged us, and financially supported us. We could not be where we are without all of you! On days that have been tough, some of you have come with just the right words. When we have had fundraisers, you have been the heroes. You have invited others, helped out, attended, and donated. We are so blessed and thankful to have such a huge circle of people who understand what we are doing and want to be a part of it.
2. We are thankful for each other. Although I think I tend to show my emotions about the adoption much more than Jeffrey does, this has been a trying and emotional journey for both of us. Together we have worked as a team and completed hours and hours of paperwork, talked to government workers, social workers, and more. We both also know that we are supposed to be doing this, and that we do have a child on the other side of the world who is supposed to be a part of our family.
3. We are thankful for the lessons we have learned. This process has been more difficult on every level than we could ever imagine. Though it is no where near to being over, we have already learned so much.
-We have learned that some things are just completely out of our control, and that we just have to trust in the Lord.
- We have learned that we need to enjoy where we are right now. We can't constantly be fretting about what may happen or when things will happen.
- We have learned so many lessons about life and about ourselves. The list could be a blog by itself.
We are definitely not the same people we were when we started this process.
4. We are thankful for our child. Though we have not met, we are constantly thinking and absolutely in love with this person we do not know. We are so honored to be the parents of this beautiful, unique, and extremely loved child.
5. We are thankful that we are closer than we were a year ago. Though it doesn't feel like it, and we aren't nearly as close to bringing our baby home as we want to be, we are thankful that we are a little closer.
6. We are thankful for our adoption agency and for our social worker. Though they are sometimes the bearer of bad news, they have always been honest, and we feel like we are working with trustworthy people.
7. We are also so incredibly thankful for the opportunity our adoption has given us to speak to people about orphans around the world. We pray that our adoption will be encouraging to others who may feel this is something for their family. We also pray that others will see the need to get involved in helping orphans around the world.
In this season of Thanksgiving, I challenge you to look a little different at the difficult circumstances in your life. Though you may not be where you want to be, there are still reasons to stop and celebrate.
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34
As you know, the month of November is a time of year where people express their thankfulness maybe a little more often than other times of the year. People do the daily thankful post on Facebook, they may sit around the dinner table and talk about what they are thankful for, and a wide variety of other ways to show their gratitude.
At first glance and looking at where we are in the adoption process there can seem very little to be thankful for, but as I look deeper into what we have learned throughout this year, we have so much to be thankful for.
1. We cannot be more thankful for the friends and family who have stood with us as we stepped into this crazy journey. You have prayed for us, encouraged us, and financially supported us. We could not be where we are without all of you! On days that have been tough, some of you have come with just the right words. When we have had fundraisers, you have been the heroes. You have invited others, helped out, attended, and donated. We are so blessed and thankful to have such a huge circle of people who understand what we are doing and want to be a part of it.
2. We are thankful for each other. Although I think I tend to show my emotions about the adoption much more than Jeffrey does, this has been a trying and emotional journey for both of us. Together we have worked as a team and completed hours and hours of paperwork, talked to government workers, social workers, and more. We both also know that we are supposed to be doing this, and that we do have a child on the other side of the world who is supposed to be a part of our family.
3. We are thankful for the lessons we have learned. This process has been more difficult on every level than we could ever imagine. Though it is no where near to being over, we have already learned so much.
-We have learned that some things are just completely out of our control, and that we just have to trust in the Lord.
- We have learned that we need to enjoy where we are right now. We can't constantly be fretting about what may happen or when things will happen.
- We have learned so many lessons about life and about ourselves. The list could be a blog by itself.
We are definitely not the same people we were when we started this process.
4. We are thankful for our child. Though we have not met, we are constantly thinking and absolutely in love with this person we do not know. We are so honored to be the parents of this beautiful, unique, and extremely loved child.
5. We are thankful that we are closer than we were a year ago. Though it doesn't feel like it, and we aren't nearly as close to bringing our baby home as we want to be, we are thankful that we are a little closer.
6. We are thankful for our adoption agency and for our social worker. Though they are sometimes the bearer of bad news, they have always been honest, and we feel like we are working with trustworthy people.
7. We are also so incredibly thankful for the opportunity our adoption has given us to speak to people about orphans around the world. We pray that our adoption will be encouraging to others who may feel this is something for their family. We also pray that others will see the need to get involved in helping orphans around the world.
In this season of Thanksgiving, I challenge you to look a little different at the difficult circumstances in your life. Though you may not be where you want to be, there are still reasons to stop and celebrate.
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; his love endures forever." 1 Chronicles 16:34
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