God's Good and Perfect Timing

We all say it, and let's be honest we all get a little annoyed when it is said to us.  "God's timing is good and perfect"  It is almost always said in the midst of a difficult moment.  And even though we believe the truth of that statement and trust in a faithful God, it is hard to hear.  Hard I think because we know it is so true and being on the unknown end of that timing is uncomfortable.  But how glorious is that threshold when you step from questioning and wondering into celebration and exaltation.  That moment when as Mike said on Friday, "the last 5 minutes erase the last 14 months of waiting."

That is right, the phrase that for the last several months has sent shivers up our spines and made us want to hide, now seems to be the first thing off our lips when we tell about what happened to us last Friday.  God's good and perfect timing finally arrived!! It happened, we have a picture and a name!  Our baby is no longer a thought or a hope, he is a 4 month old healthy little boy!  

I could never put into words what that moment felt like.  In fact I was utterly speechless  as Mike yelled for joy next to me.  We both cried and reveled as I repeated the details to Mike, of which I think we both remembered only his name and that he was healthy.  Thankfully those details were relayed to us later via e-mail.  But to truly tell this story well (and I am storyteller by nature)  I have to back up a bit.

Prior to Friday Mike and I have had our name on the waiting list over 14 months, we have been in the midst of the adoption process for almost 22 months, we have waited longer than almost every other family to date at our organization.  It has been a long road for us, much longer than we expected when we set out.  And it would be a lie to say it was easy, because quite frankly it has been one of the most difficult things we have ever done.  But it would also be a lie to say that we would speed things up given the chance to do it over again.  I know, I know even we are a little shocked to have this realization.  But being on the other side, things are a bit more clear.  The most important reason why we wouldn't change a thing is obvious, OUR son.  God wanted this to be our son and his timing made that possible.  And second only to our Son, one of the best things about this long journey has been the support of our friends and family.  As we made sure to personally contact every person that has prayed, cried, listened, and sympathized with us through this process we realized how incredibly blessed we are.  This blog has taken 5 days to write because it has taken us that long to tell everyone on our support list.  We may not have been able to "know" our child through this journey but we have certainly had a lot of great people stand in the gap for us.  And I know if you are reading this, you are one of those people.  So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!  So now that you have been refreshed on what got us to Friday, I will give you the details of our "call"/ referral.

I think the easiest thing is to give you a timeline view, with a few notes thrown in about how awesome God is!

Monday evening (I know the referral didn't come until Friday but this is important)

- Mandy wrote in the baby's journal that she felt as if the "call" was going to come this week

Monday-Thursday 

-Each morning and evening Mike and Mandy prayed fervently.  Prayed in a way they had not up to that point.  It was very honest, raw and desperate.  Much like a child begging to their parent.  Which of course is exactly what it was.  

I include this only because I truly believe God heard and understood the desperation and near breaking point in our voices and thoughts and hearts.  And he knew we could not handle much more.  A testament to the fact that God does hear every word we offer up to him!

Friday February 3rd 2012

- Mandy had taken the day off 

Another amazing God moment! If she had not been off work Mike and Mandy wouldn't have been together when the call came.

-7:30   Mike and Mandy left for Tacoma to be there for their close friends Sharon and Andrew as they finalized their adoption with their son Justin.  

Oh yeah God was at work again!  We have been basically journeying side by side with the Meads through this whole process.  They started their domestic adoption only a few months after us and received their referral in November.  Wow God is clever!

-8:00 As we drove down you could see Mount Rainer clear as day!  The sun shined bright all day in fact. It was absolutely gorgeous weather.  Important to note because this is rare for Feb. in Seattle

-10:00   We got to hear the judge say "This child is now yours just as if he were born to you"

God truly knows how to comfort the hearts of those who are in dispair.  Hearing those words and knowing they would be said about our child someday gave us back much of the joy that had been lost along the long journey.

-10:45  We stopped at the craft store to kill time before lunch.  Not really important except that Mandy bought cute stuff to finish the mural in the Baby's room.  Which will probably be the next blog post :)  Sneek preview in the pic!

11:00- 1:00  Lunch with Sharon and Andrew and their friends and family.

Also another testament to God's amazing nature.  It was such a great reminder of the fact that it really does take a village to raise a child.  There were so many people there who had prayed them through their journey.  We couldn't help but think about our "village" as well.

1:15  Mandy insists that she should call Holt (adoption agency).  Mike insists that there is no reason to call because there is nothing to ask or reason for calling.  Mike wins but Mandy is happy because he buys her a cherry limeade on the way home, she loves Sonic.  Ok not that important, but still part of the day. The one thing that is important to note is that this car ride is the only time during the day that Mike and Mandy have been or will be alone!!  God's timing is even perfect down to the hour!

1:50  WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!  As previously mentioned Mandy= speechless and Mike= yelling and overjoyed.  As Mike took the phone out of his pocket it quickly turned into a hot potato!  He tossed it at Mandy (he was driving) and yelled "IT'S HOLT!!"  On the other line was Jennifer and after the pleasantries were exchanged she said "I am calling because I have a referral for you."  Alleluia, Alleluia the clouds parted and the sun shined brightly on our car, all traffic parted and our car began to run on joy and tears.  Ok, not really, but that is what it felt like!  Jennifer proceed to share the details with Mandy, which she repeated back to Mike, at least what she remembered/ comprehended.  Mike screamed a lot, which Jennifer got a kick out of.  And Mandy fumbled and bumbled her words out but was mostly speechless, which should tell you the gravity of the shock and excitement because she hasn't been speechless since the womb.  Jennifer said that if we wanted she would send the information to us over email. She clearly knew neither of us heard much passed his name and age.  Mandy told her of course they would love more information and hung up the phone.  Mike looked at Mandy said "the last 5 minutes just erased the last 14 months."  And how right he was.  

1:55- 2:00  We drove home, maybe a little faster than normal.  We talked about something, we are sure of it.  It is just that it is all a big blur.  Here is a sample of what was probably said

Mike:  Ahhhhhh we are going to be parents!!!!

Mandy:  I knew it....  uhhh... I... uhhh... wow

Mike:  WOWEEEE!! 

Mandy:  Uhhhhhhhhh

2:15  We called Mandy's Dad to tell him the amazing news first.  And then began to plot/ plan a trip home so Mandy could tell everyone in person, you'll hear more later. (Thanks daddy!! You're the best!!)

2:17  We called Mike's parents and calmly presented a "plan" for the evening that would get both of them to our house.

2:20   We arrive home and open the email to see our baby boy for the first time.  We will say only this, if you are a parent  you know what this feels like.  If you are not we pray that you get to feel this someday! 

This is the moment we knew God heard the desperation in our prayers, this was his faithful assurance.

2:35  Drive very hurriedly to print many many pictures of the cutest baby in the whole world, no really he is!! Go to 2 different places before we get it right.  Mandy prints way too many pictures, don't judge she was excited  and you never know what might happen to the first 20 you print :)  

2:55  We show up for our already scheduled Doctor's appointment, which we need to have for our updated home study.  Again seeing God's perfect timing.  We had scheduled all of our appointments to get this updated the week before.  These documents have to be completed to proceed with our adoption by the way!  

3:45  Show the doctor the paperwork for our Baby (remember this appointment was set the week before the call ever came).  She tells us she sees nothing out of the ordinary and from the paperwork we have what appears to be a very healthy baby.  If you are still doubting God's timing let me tell you that it would have cost us $500 to have a specialized doctor review our paperwork on top of having to wait serval days for an appointment.  So again God is really good at what he does people!!

4:30  Tell Mike's parents.  Laugh and cry with them as Karen jumps up and down and yells with joy! (wonder where Mike gets it)  It was so great to share the news with them.  And see that they were just as excited as we were!  Maybe even more, Karen yelled pretty loud :)

4:35  Mandy packs and buys a plane ticket home to Kansas City.

4:45 Mike, Mandy, Doug and Karen leave for basketball game in Puyallup.

6:00 We arrive at the game and Mandy desperately tries to act normal.

7:30 The girls pull off an awesome 1 point win

9:10 The boys pull off another epic win and we leave for the airport

10:30 Mike drops Mandy off at the airport

She is a bit distraught by the fact that she cannot celebrate longer with Mike.  But realizes after her weekend home that it will be the last time she is in KC for a long time.  Again God is good to put the things in place even when we don't understand in the moment.

10:50 Mandy sitting in the airport reeling from the day opens her bible and turns directly to "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."  Ephesians 1:5-10

Saturday February 4th - Tuesday February 7th

The days are a barrage of joy and excitement as we slowly call, facetime or tell our family and friends in person about our little boy.  Some of the highlights are:

Surprising Mandy's sister and niece and nephews at their house.  It was an early birthday present. (Amie's birthday was Monday)  Luke greeted Mandy at the door by jumping into her arms and giving her a big hug.  Luke was actually the one to tell his mom by giving her a frame with the Baby's picture in it.  It was so great to tell them in person!!  Sydney carried the frame around saying "Bebee."  It was perfect!

Mike and Mandy were able to video chat with Paul and Summer later that day in San Diego.  It was nice to hear Jillian's voice in the background and know that our baby will be blessed to have cousins to grow up with.

Throughout the day we continued to tell lots of friends and family!

Saturday Mandy and Mike were able to pull off the biggest surprise with Mandy's Mom.  She was arriving home from a rather difficult few days out of town.  But all was erased when she walked in to find a frame that said "I love my Grandma" and a picture of baby inside.  Mike was set up on the iPad and Mandy snuck up behind her.  It was a perfect way to tell her!!

Sunday brought more phone calls and video chats with friends and family!  And Mike was able to take pictures of Justin Mead who we celebrated with on Friday, a nice full circle to our weekend!

Tuesday morning capped off our celebration with the "village" when we told Auntie Carmen and Markie and Uncle Spencer and Dylan about Baby.  These four are sure to teach our son all kinds of craziness but they will also make great babysitters so it is a good trade off!

All in all Mandy hasn't slept in 4 days and Mike has been filling out paperwork left and right, but it has been an amazing weekend that we will never forget!!

Thank you all for sharing this journey with us!  We can't wait to continue walking with you!