Waiting

It's been a strange couple of weeks.  A good couple of weeks at the same time.  We visited our dear friends in St. Louis last weekend, Josh and Jessie and their great kids, Cooper and Layla. Bet and Erik and their son, Zain met us there from Chicago-land. We all met in November 2010 in Addis Ababa, ET, the same time we met our children for the first time (Josh and Jessie's youngest of course).
A beautiful, refreshing, wonderfully fun reunion.

We packed it in too: zoo in the morning, Magic House in the afternoon followed by dinner at a local Ethiopian restaurant. We played T-ball in the drizzly cold May rain. We danced and sang. We cooked together, shared life together, prayed together, laughed together. Extremely grateful for the bond we have through Jesus and through adoption.
My mom is here visiting this weekend. And Tuesday we have a dear family coming to visit to talk to us some about the work they are planning on doing soon in Burkina Faso, West Africa.  Also on Wednesday we have a phone interview with a social worker at our agency, about a dear little one that we have learned needs a home, we are one of 8 families that have inquired more about her, and although it's difficult to wait, it's great to rest in the arms of the Father who already has a family picked for her, who has never left this child, who is her restorer.
There are some other things going on in my family that are hard. That cause us to wait. Sin that has crept in, lies that have been believed, pain that is being inflicted by decisions. That's vague. And that's okay. I'll look back and know. This waiting is hard. This limbo zone uncomfortable. The stretching and growing and grasping for anything to hold on to during these times is part of life, but the holding steadfast and the growing can be SO good, so beautiful, so redeeming, if we trust, if we hold on to the One who never lets go.
So, it's been strange. This waiting that we all get to do.  This discomfort. This worry that ensues.
But then I remember. The One who corrals all the chaos in the universe. Who created everything from nothing. Who has already defeated the enemy. Who reigns supreme over all. I remember. I trust. I hope.
"I waited patiently for the Lord, He turned to me and heard my cry" Psalm 40:1
"Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14
and a key verse that we are teaching Isaac these days,  
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:22-23, 25