Article 5 and Hoarding

After our small "hiccup" that I mentioned in the last post, we finally had all of our info cabled to China on May 30th and exactly two weeks later we received our Article 5.  Now the only piece that remains is our Travel Approval which could arrive any day now.  Exciting, right?!  Except that we have another small "hiccup"... Tyson needs to finish some work related training before we can leave.  Most families leave within 10-14 days of receiving their TA but we will be postponing our trip until mid August.  At first I was really bummed, but I am starting to see the positives, which leads me to the hoarding part of this post...

I am a Hoarder.  Those of you who know me really well are gasping in disbelief, but our pastor at church has been discussing being a hoarder of emotions and when he spent one whole Sunday talking about hoarding self-control, well let's just say it hit very close to home! I know that following God's will is the reason we are adopting, but I have to admit that I have been trying to control the timeline as much as possible.  The verse I posted last time and one that was discussed at church has really had me feeling ashamed (even though it is hard to admit).

The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.  Ecclesiastes 7:8

The Lord said to Gideon, "You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, 'My own strength has saved me.'  Judges 7:2

More than anything, I want to hold sweet Nathan in my arms and snuggle those little cheeks, but I am also guilty of wanting this adoption to follow my timeline and my "needs", relying many times on my own strength.  No wonder the last few weeks have been so hard!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28

Patience, love, faith, hope, and trust are words that have taken on a whole new meaning.  Now I just need to rely on God for the strength and endurance to finish out these next seven weeks.

In the meantime, I will spend time snuggling with these sweet little cheeks...

While I wait for these cute little cheeks!

Thank you Family and Friends for all of your love and prayers, they are being felt!

This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keeps his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.  Revelation 14:12