The "In-Between"

Daily life does get busy with children, and I'm sure to get busier when we bring Big and Little S home from Ethiopia, hopefully very soon! Yet, I still strive to find the time to do a daily devotion that was designed for busy women.

Our church, Front Street Baptist Church, provides for us monthly devotionals for both women and men, along with monthly magazines for families and parents. I must admit, I do enjoy them, when I find the time to do more than glimpse at them in passing. All of these wonderful devotions are published by http://www.lifeway.com/.

This week, there were two devotions that really struck a nerve with me. The first was title "The Waiting Room." Hmmmm....how appropriate; I could have used this devotions months ago (slight sarcasm). "Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him." Psalm 37:7 and "Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed (David) in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David. 1 Samuel 16:13. The first verse spoke of waiting, which is a requirement in international adoption, regardless of whether you want to or like to (additional sarcasm added). The devotion states: "Trust is usually developed during times of trials, even if waiting for God can sometimes be tough." ....."Trust is our gift back to God...the way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future." (Ruthless Trust).

The second devotion was even more meaninful to me. As I read it Saturday night, I honestly looked around the room to see if I could see God standing there reading it to me. The words literally jumped off the pages, singing a tune of their own to me. The devotion read: "Have you ever found yourself in a similar place (to the future King David, who was promised to be the future king at a very young age, yet spent many years hiding from King Saul, who was trying to kill him), truly believing God has shown you a passion to pursue and given you a vision for the future (emphasis mine), but then nothing seems to happen?" The devotion then goes ton to: "Most of your life will be lived in the in-between -- between times of action, clarity and accomplishment. Don't let this news discourage you. It's the middle time when God really goes to work hammering out the details of your character and preparing you for action. God is just as focused on developing you into someone who reflects His image as He is on completing a task."

Wow....I must say, I was a bit taken back. I never really felt the proverbial sledge hammer hit my head as hard as I did Saturday night. The "in-betweens" ....... the last 5 1/2 months have been one long in-between for me. Yet, as I reflected on these past few months, I get a better glimpse of why our wait has been so long. I'm thankful that God didn't wait years to reveal to me His purpose....His perfect timing in this, our 2nd adoption. He's been preparing me to be the mother of 4 small children.....he's developing, do I dare say, patience in me, along with a compassionate heart. All along, He's been preparing me to see the things He knows I'll see when we return to Ethiopia, things I've never seen before, knowing I wasn't ready to see them. How precious that God loves me so much that the time spent in-between are as important as the ultimate task at hand.

As we prepare for our court date next week, we've started the physical tasks of sorting and organizing stuff for our trip. Yet we will embark on a bigger journey, an emotional journey of "discovery" to Kidmia, in Gunchire, Ethiopia, who'se purpose is to provide a transitional Christian home for Ethiopian orphans that is eventually self-sustaining. This has become my passion -- this is what God has been preparing me for. As much as our first visit to Ethiopia changed us in ways we never anticipated, I am bracing myself for a whirlwind of emotions that I know only God can prepare me for as we experience first hand the true plight of the Ethiopian orphans.