We've also gotten some negative comments from others who really don't understand anything about adoption, or why we're doing what we're doing. Including one particular comment last night from someone very close to us. It hurt. Really hurt. As we drove home from church last night, I was very discouraged. I told Chris, "I am so tired. So tired of no one around us understanding what we're going through. Tired of negative comments. Tired of waiting!"
Immediately, the verse in the Bible about giving thanks for all things popped into my head. You see, my sister was visiting for a few days this week, and while we scrapbooked, we listened to an audiobook called The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. She was a Christian in the Netherlands who hid some Jews in her home back in the time of Hitler. She was later arrested, imprisoned, and transferred to several different concentration camps. In the book it talks about giving thanks to God for ALL things, even those things we can't imagine being thankful for. In one part it talks about how Corrie and her sister were given different accommodations in the camp and the beds were horribly infested with fleas. Corrie's sister, Betsie, read in the Bible about giving thanks for all things, and went on to pray to God and thank Him for their beds, the camp, being together with her sister, and even the fleas. Corrie thought her sister was crazy - why would anyone thank God for fleas? Some time later, the residents from those barracks noticed something very puzzling. The guards, who were incredibly cruel to everyone else, gave almost no heed to that particular dormitory. The reason? The place was crawling with fleas, and the guards refused to set foot in the
room. So it turned out that even the fleas were a blessing, because it kept the women from being abused all the time.
room. So it turned out that even the fleas were a blessing, because it kept the women from being abused all the time.
Anyway, I decided last night that I should be thankful for the wait and for the negative comments. Who knows? Maybe they're making me grow in a way that I needed to grow. Maybe they're molding me into a more patient and long-suffering person. After all, a plant can't grow without the rain and storms, and sometimes (as we heard Sunday in church) it even needs a little manure to make it stronger. Maybe the wait and negative comments are my rain and manure, intended to help me grow. Sometimes the bad and disgusting and really difficult times in our lives are actually blessings in disguise. And the sun always shines again (and sometimes seems much brighter!) after the storm.
*By the way, if you are interested in hearing The Hiding Place (I would highly recommend this book), it can be downloaded for free this month at http://christianaudio.com/.*
What a wonderful post! We're sitting at over 7 months of waiting with very similar parameters, and I CANNOT believe we're all still waiting! I am thankful for the wait, and praying God would use this time for all of us as a time of refining and preparation. It is exhausting, and sometimes I think a good cry might just be what I need. : )
ReplyDeleteI am sorry about the negative comments. The great part is- WE GET IT!!! WE UNDERSTAND!!!! So wish I could come over and give you a hug :) I would!!! Praying this wait will be over soon. I know it must be very very hard. Praying for you tonight!
ReplyDeleteJust remember, Erica, you are far from alone. We are all in the same storm--being stretched and refined by the Lord--but pressing on to the final goal! I am so glad that the Lord has brought so many of us together through the blogging world. hang in there!!
ReplyDeleteRight there with ya, sista! So sorry you found yourself in what I call the "waiting rut," but way proud of you for not letting the enemy keep you there! Instead, you CHOSE to keep your eyes on the Lord. Trusting that HE would bring good out of this rut and that HE would lift you out of this rut. BEST thing you could do! I thank you for this post, because I found myself in tears, experiencing the same "rut" today. Sorry you heard some hurtful comments, but as the above commenters pointed out, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I will say an extra special prayer tonight for you ~ that you will feel God breathe a newfound strength and positive energy into you, lifting you to higher ground. Bless you for choosing HIM in your storm. p.s......COOL PICTURE!!!!! p.p.s......I LOVED reading The Hiding Place!
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