“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15
Is there a special place and time that God seems to speak to you more than others? For me it is on an airplane. Suspended in air, forced to sit still and utterly incapable of determining the outcome of the flight. During those times He does a deep work in me, dealing with me on many levels and bringing to my attention areas that are not in alignment with what He wants. Upon reaching my destination (especially after longer flights) I typically have a clearer mind and a new resolve with respect to the things that He addressed. The irony is, of course, that these are also times when my body feels most exhausted. When we are weak, He is strong.
International adoption can offer adoptive parents some of the same opportunities for spiritual reflection and refinement. They do as much as they can in their own strength and efforts, then send their dossier off to a foreign land and someone who has the authority to determine whether they satisfy applicable standards (interesting to think of this as a metaphor for surrendering all that we are to God). After that, they wait…and the “refining” begins. The result isn’t predictable, necessarily, but when adoptive parents exit the process they are forever changed.
Whatever your involvement in international adoption may be, may God bless you with the assurance that He knows what you are facing and that He is able to deliver you to your destination. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Justin Arnot
CWA Executive Director
Thank you for this and it couldn’t have come at a better time. We’ll be on a plane tomorrow to bring our son home from Thailand. God bless you.
God speed and many blessings! We are blessed to be an encouragement to you. Have a wonderful trip and God bless.
This is an amazing commentary. I have wanted to adopt from China and or India/Ethiopia. But I had never been on a plane…was afraid to fly. I’m 52 years old and knew I had to finnally take the step in order to know whether I could be on a long flight of 19-21 hours to retrieve my child. This year I took my first trip within the US. The Flight was only 3 hours. I was nervouse ans unaware of all the sensations you feel when flying. At one point the plane had dropped in attitude…but I didn’t know that was what it was and thought I was fainting. Felt panic cover me though outwardly I appeared calm. I started trying to deep breathe and adjusting my position. But nothing was working.I prayed God “help me not to fear my heart is beating so fast…and I have 2 more hours to fly.” Suddenly a wave of peace started fromt the top of my head going to the bottom of my feet. It was like the fear physically emptied out of me…and it was gone. Oh my, tears began to fall as I realized God had heard my cry took my fear away. It was an experience I will never forget. But even after that trip I had resolved I probably would not be able to handle a longer flight to adopt internationally.
Your commentary today is so profound to me and has really shaken me faith up again about reapproaching adoption and the possibilty of flying again. Thank you
It is awesome to think that God is just waiting for us to listen, and an airplane ride can be the perfect time for Him to speak to us. May God bless you and help you overcome your fear of flying! We are praying for you and your heart’s desire to adopt.
This is soooo true. But it continues daily as you watch your child learn and understand. You just have to thank God daily for those wonderful blessings and insights He gives us with these beautiful children! Thank you CWA for helping us to have this blessing!
Kim
Hi Kim,
We are glad to be part of your family story! Your little one must be growing by leaps and bounds! We love you and hope to hear more from you soon.
Thank you for “His Sovereignty”. We are still waiting on our referrals and it gets so discouraging. I know that God’s timing is not our timing and I am guilty of wanting to know why, and wanting to understand. Last night I was praying for our adoption process with tears flowing. After that, I started my daily Bible reading and I am now in the book of Job. It is amazing how God works. I learned that “It’s better to know God than to know answers” and we should not expect God to explain everything because He gives us Himself, not all the details of His plans.
Thank you for these encouraging words today; beautiful, well written and much needed! Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you.
Stacey,
Thank you for sharing your heart felt thoughts and what the Lord is saying to you. You are in our prayers as you wait for the day your referral call comes. Thank you too, for your sweet spirit; your words are encouragement to us as well. Hang in there! James 1:12
I’m so happy to see God is choosing parents to send and get these babies! I constantly check the photolisting to see if the children I was praying for were chosen. This is such a couragous act of faith to recieve a child in your life. May God bless the orhans of the world and give them parents to love and care for them. Thank You CWA!! May God use you abundantly!!
Thank you for your prayers. Prayer is the mightiest tool we have and we appreciate your prayers for these children!