Wait Training

On our way back from Dnipropetrovsk yesterday, I was thinking about waiting. Waiting is key during the final weeks in the Ukraine. Don’t get me wrong, bonding with our little Olga is most important. But since she is recovering from the Chicken Pox, I WAIT. I thought that all this waiting can be looked at as some sort of training like the triathlon. They run, swim and bike, I will wait sitting down, lying down and standing. So we are in training to WAIT. For example, this morning I woke up early so we can get the final paperwork done for the adoption of Olga. I WAITED for the translator, then we WAITED for the driver. We went to the court house and WAITED for the translator to proof the document, make copies and bind them. I was trained for this 2 hour WAIT, sitting down mind you. Then it was off to drop off a copy for the case worker. That was a sprint because we didn’t have to WAIT long. Then off to the institution to drop off a copy and get authorization to have Olga’s birth certificate and tax identification changed, I WAITED standing up, pacing and sitting down. Then we were off to Dnipropetrovsk, we WAITED to get to our designation (this will call the moving WAIT), 2 hours later, the Vital Records building. We made it and only had to WAIT 30 minutes. During this time we replenished our strength with snacks such as traditional Russian cookies and water. Then it was off to the Tax office. This WAIT involved standing around and watching people watch me WAIT. Then we were on our way back to Krivoy Rog, a 1 hour and 30 minute moving WAIT. We got back to Krivoy Rog and made one final stop at the caseworkers office. Whew!!!

Putting the fun aside, I thought about the spiritual connection as well. I was thinking about waiting and how the Lord asks us to wait on Him. “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Ps. 27:14. We are to rest in the Lord. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Ps. 37:7. We are to wait on the Lord as we are going through tough times. “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me. And heard my cry. Ps. 40:1. Refreshing comes as we wait on the Lord. “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strengthen;” Ps. 40:31. We are blessed when we wait on the Lord. The Israelites waited on their coming Messiah and those who believed were blessed. And its the same for us today. Jesus said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29. Jesus asked the apostles to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which” He said, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5 And now we wait on Christ’s return. “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Hebrews 9:28

Waiting can bring blessings! Those families that have adopted and those that are currently going through the adoption process understand how difficult it is to wait. Especially knowing there is a fragile child waiting for them. God, give us the patience to wait on your perfect timing.