Paperwork Sent

Friday (yesterday) was a very busy day. It took a while to make 2 copies of all the documents. Then I came home to feed the kids lunch and put them down for their naps. Sierra had been out late the night before and was tired. Helga, a neighbor down the street, stayed at our house so I could run back out. I went downtown to Family Core to pick up an additional notarized homestudy, and then went to the Post Office and mailed everything off. One form went to Springfield to be apostilled. One packet went to Dallas to USCIS. And a box went to Oregon to Holt.

I expected to be jubilant and hugely relieved to hand it all off to the man behind the counter. Instead, I was suddenly gripped with fear and dread and I felt sick. I couldn't take my hands off my packaged pile. It seemed every piece of paper was a piece of Hannah and I was entrusting her to a complete stranger. I looked at him and said, "This is a huge chunk of my life. I just need for you to know that." I literally had to talk myself home. I reminded myself they were just papers and this was necessary to get me closer to our real live breathing Hannah. And as I made myself drive away, I dealt with my nausea by reminding myself that God loves Hannah even more than I possibly can. He is controlling things- not the USPS. He can protect my paperwork. You probably think I'm weird, but I'm thankful my God understands me.

On another note, we went to Family Core's picnic today for their adoptive families. At the picnic this past spring, there was an adoptive father that specifically asked how he could be praying for our adoption. I told him my Christmas wish was for a referral. I was hoping he would be at the picnic today to share our news of Hannah. He was and do you know that this man, who doesn't even really know us, has been praying for our adoption two or three times every day?! Today, he had his whole family with him, and his wife was eager to meet us since she's heard about us and had been praying. I was glad I'd brought pictures of Hannah to show them. They said the pictures would help since they can now be specifically praying for our little girl and a speedy court process. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing! The bond and closeness Believers feel defies reason. The Holy Spirit is a gift I all too often take for granted.