Riding an actual roller coaster would be much easier!

God continues to amaze and surprise us during this journey of adoption. I have never been more reminded of His overarching sovereignty, and my own inability to make things happen in my own strength. What precious lessons to be learning and growing in, though the process has been so difficult at times.

About two weeks ago, we were contacted by a lawyer in town who knew of a baby born locally needing to be placed for adoption. While we had not been considering domestic adoption, after praying about it, we felt that God had opened this door and wanted us to proceed and see what would happen. We hesitantly moved forward, and waited to hear more. It was quite an emotional roller coaster! We would get our hopes up, wait nervously for the phone to ring, and then see our hopes dashed when we heard nothing.

By Monday of this week, we hadn't heard anything in almost a week, and it seemed to all involved that God was closing the door on this opportunity. Then, we got a phone call last night letting us know that it was still possible, and might happen very quickly.

Today, we found out that this baby has been released from the hospital and is now under the authority of DCFS. The birthmom is living on the streets, and her friend has been unable to find her (partly due to bad weather) in order to get her to sign papers terminating her rights. We were hoping to be appointed guardians, but now it's unclear if that's even a possibility with DCFS in the picture.

Would you join us in praying that this birthmom could be found, that she would make the best decision for her son, that we would be patient in waiting to see what God has planned, and that He would move mountains to make this possible for us, if this is the child He has chosen for our family? Would you also pray that our hearts would have the right mixture of hopeful expectation and preparation to receive sad news?

If we do move in this direction, we will need to pull out of the Russian adoption program, which brings with it another flood of mixed emotions. We have no idea what the future holds, but we rest secure, knowing that God's purposes will prevail, and that none of this is surprising or overwhelming for Him. In His perfect timing, He will bring us the child He has chosen to join our family. Oh, how we long for that day!