As we were catching up on our Advent Calendar tonight God reminded me about a little thing called Joy. The devotional talked about lighting the candle tonight to remember the Joy that it is almost Jesus' birthday. When Jesus was born, Joy came back into our world. It may sound easy to be Joyful in ALL things, it most definitely is not! In the midst of tragedy it is hard to remember that we live for the promise of heaven.
This week I have had a hard time being joyful. As I mentioned briefly in my last post, there are some issues with the US Embassy in Ethiopia approving families for Embassy dates. Essentially all adoptions in Ethiopia have come to a standstill because the US Embassy has changed their paperwork requirements. They are now requiring more detailed documentation about how the children came into the custody of the original orphanage. To get the necessary paperwork agencies have to go back to the small towns all over Ethiopia where most of the orphanages are and get more documentation. We were praying that Jonah would not be part of that requirement. On Wednesday we found out they are requesting more details about his case as well. Now we are relying on the local officials in a town several hours from the capital city to get the documents we need.
I have a number of fears rising up in my heart. So, today I decided that rather than dwell in fear I would live in JOY! We had an amazing day preparing for Christmas as a family. Hannah and I spent time at the horse barn riding Coppertop, which always puts me in a good mood. I worked on organizing Jonah's room and washed his clothes in an effort to remind myself that he is coming home. I am also going to print out his birth certificate and put it on the fridge so I can see the proof that yes he is ours.
Continue to pray that he will be home with us soon and our hearts will be filled with Joy as we wait.
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