One of the things that most inspires my mood each day is how I wake up. Normally if I am awakened suddenly by a child sitting on my feet, yanking on me or otherwise asking for immediate attention, the rest of the day cascades from there. Today was very different, unexpectedly.
15 minutes before my alarm clock would go off, I heard "Feeling So Fly" from Toby Mac at high volume right next to my head. Normally I would have been wondering what horrible or not so horrible thing had happened at work that needed my immediate attention rather than 60 minutes from then. Over this last couple months I have been conditioned to have my hope renewed each morning. I quickly grabbed my phone off the bedside table and accidentally hung up on one of our friends. I immediately called them back to find out why they had called me at 6:30 am on a Friday. The day before, like many other days recently, Sheri and I had been praying that our friends would receive great news. The news that soon followed after we connected was that they received their referral. Hallelujah! As I loudly woke up Sheri next to me, it was one of the only times that I have not earned a nasty look or ongoing scorn for the early hour. Wonderful news for those who have been long suffering like us. My phone shut off by itself and dropped the phone call that I was so excited to take. The two minutes we waited for the phone to turn back on might have been extended by us staring and almost yelling for it to hurry. We called back and completed our initial conversation.
This week has been has been full of activity, frustration, elation and somber recognition. Work has been extremely busy for me, Jacob and Camryn returned to school, Sheri returned to Bible study and we got back into a routine after spring break. We still did not receive news about a referral that we are sure will come any day as well as ongoing approval letters for those still waiting that started this process about the same time. This week was the 17th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda on Thursday. Again frustration that likely the country would not open offices on Friday to process paperwork due to the activities from the day before. Elation to be awakened in one of the best ways possible with wonderful news and a hope for upcoming events. Excitement for the families that are currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in pursuit of further paperwork to legally bring their children home to the US in the midst of an impending government shutdown.
No wonder I excitedly woke up this morning and got ready. Surprising that I decided this was a great day to add 90 minutes onto my workday without any pre-planning. I went through my day with a glass half full approach, and decided that nothing was gonna bring me down. I was so excited that I listened to 6 Psalms on my phone on the way into work, and I broke out some of the highest energy music possible. It was gonna be a great day. I returned home elated and tired, but ready to spend time with my family. It was close to bedtime, so we quickly ate dinner and relaxed together. As we were getting ready for bed, Sheri checked the Rwanda chat room that we monitor for updated news and questions/answers and found out that another family that had been waiting since 2009 had received their referral as well. What wonderful news for a Friday evening after a month of waiting on our own referral.
It is very strange when the nighttime prayers of our daughter make me excited to go to work on Monday. Since I know that Monday is when The Ministry opens again. That means another opportunity to see the face of our new beautiful son. It is another chance to see more news from others in the same cycle that is our life currently. It is another opportunity to fully rely on God to renew our hope and buoy us up even when we would prefer to stay in bed that day. It is amazing that something that seems so powerful, hope, can be renewed constantly and fervently. That the smallest thing can do so much. A line on a blog, a picture, a song or even news from halfway around the world can take the spirits of our family in Nampa and transform it into a frenzy of excitement and activity. It is difficult to wait to get the remainder of what we need to take care of our new son, but it is easier knowing that our friends will soon have children home or be travelling to Rwanda. Soon and very soon.
God bless,
Jeff
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