Don't get caught up in doing

I had the opportunity to attend a church leadership retreat yesterday. As part of the kickoff, the youth team showed a video of photos from their recent trip to Fondwa Haiti. It really brought back memories for me. Seeing familiar places and faces from my trip in those photos. The youth leader ended this portion of the retreat challenging us to avoid getting caught up in the "doing" of life and be more caught up in being present in life. My time in  Haiti last year provided me that opportunity. I wasn't so concerned with doing and was able to really focus on the moment and the experience.

I think that is a good challenge for us in everyday life. Not necessarily when we go on a mission trip or on some service focused event. But, how can we be present in all that we do throughout life?

This is the one year anniversary for my trip to Haiti. That trip took the conceptual idea of adoption and turned it into a reality for me. Coming home from the trip a year ago, I became convinced that adoption was the right thing for our family.

As we go through the adoption process, it can become very easy to focus on and get caught up in the doing. As an example, our main focus right now is getting all the paperwork together for our Dossier. What an example of "doing". There is even a checklist list for us to mark off what is done.

I need to pause and shift my focus away from the doing, away from the checklist and move it to the process and all that we are learning and gaining from it. Now doing is a necessary part of life. Checklists aren't bad things. We need to do to generate money for the household, keep that house clean and educate our kids. All necessary and important things.

But, wouldn't life be so much better if the focus was on being present with those around us? Something that I certainly need to remember in my life.

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)

"Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
But I'm giving in to something Heavenly"

Sanctus Real

Huzzah!

Our Home Study has been approved. According to the Adoption Agency we are approved to adopt from Haiti. This is a big relief, not so much from the stnadpoint of not being approved, but rather from the standpoint of a milestone being crossed.

Now we move on to the governmental paperwork and paper trail.

Huzzah indeed!

Awake My Soul

"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your love, you invest your life.

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die.
Where you invest your love, you invest your life.

Awake my soul, awake my soul
Awake my soul.
For you where made to meet your maker."

Mumford & Sons

Walking a tightrope

Are you familiar with the Flying Wallendas? The circus daredevil act that does crazy stunts on a high wire without a safety net?

I was refelcting today on my thoughts and mindset with the adoption and realized that I feel like a member of the Wallendas. No, I am not writing this blog post perched on a pole about to walk out on a tightrope. However, I feel like I am balancing my emotions and they are resting on that highwire way up there without a saftey net. Let me try and explain.

On one side, I am trying not to get ahead of myself. Our home study is not complete. What if the agency comes back and says we are not qualified to adopt. (Crazy, I know, but these are my emotions folks). What if the process drags on and on for years? Do we have the staying power and patience for this to go on this long. What if Haiti ratifies the Hague and the process changes dramatically or even worse, adoptions get shut down? How will we cope? How long can we continue in the process with no end in sight?

On the other side, the more I read about GLA (the orphanage), the more I am encouraged by the care the children receive. These kids are loved and well cared for and the orphanage follows the rules and is looking our for both the adopted child, the adopting family, and the birth family. We are hearing reports that Haitian Social Services is moving more quickly on adoptions. This brings hope that our wait might not be as long as expected. We also hear that there are not many requests for boys, and that means that the referral for our son could be right around the corner once GLA gets our paperwork. And, God has called Leslie and I on this journey. That is incredibly powerful and uplifting.

Can you see how I am stuck in a balancing act? Stick with me. It's going to be a crazy balancing act on that high-wire. I know that when it is all over, we can all give a huge standing ovation.