Hurry Up & Wait

I knew this adoption thing was going to be a wild ride, but I didn't know just how wild it could get. It's hard to believe we started this whole process over 6 months ago, and we haven't even turned in an application yet! But there's a reason for that.

A quick synopsis for anyone who doesn't know our most recent history:

2007 - Jake was 6 mos. old. when we built and moved into a house in Katy, west of Houston. Six months later, Jason got a promotion that required a relocation to Denver. We put our house on the market right after the great Housing Market Crash, couldn't sell, and ended up leasing it out.

2008 - Moved to Denver.

2009 - Jason moved into another position within his company, allowing us to move back to Texas. We decided to settle in Dallas and ended up renting a home here. Meanwhile, our tenants in Katy moved out. We put the house back on the market, but still couldn't sell it. Anyone who could actually qualify for a house wanted new construction. We found new tenants and signed a one-year lease.

2010 - The new tenants enjoyed the Katy house and elected to re-up their lease for another two years. By God's grace and blessing, we were able to purchase a home in Prosper and finally settle down.

2011 - Relatively uneventful as far as real estate is concerned. Thank goodness!

2012 - Everything seemed to unravel. Jenn had an unexpected hysterectomy to remedy a mile-long list of reproductive challenges. Our only valid option for having another child was to adopt. Jenn located the adoption agency and began filling out paperwork. We were about to submit our application and the first installment of our adoption fee when we found out our tenants decided to move into a house of their own. We were forced to put the Katy house on the market a third time (about 3 months ago) and had to put all of our adoption plans on hold while we floated two mortgages with no rental income.

Admittedly, I was angry at God when this all went down. It was hard enough dealing with the emotional toll of losing my dream of being pregnant again, but having to put the adoption on hold while we juggled finances was heartbreaking. I quickly fell away from my relationship with the Lord, frustrated that He was allowing this to be such a difficult process. Consequently, I also felt that He had taken His hand off of our family as a result of my disobedience. It was a rough time, for sure!

We had a decent number of showings on the house, but no offers. We were about to give up and settle on leasing again when I felt God's conviction tugging yanking at my heart strings. "Come back to me. You can't do this without me." After a week of fighting and letting my pride get in the way, I finally submitted and asked the Lord for His forgiveness. I begged and pleaded for Him to perform a miracle in our situation, but I also prayed that we would trust His timing and His plan.

Three days later, we got a text from our realtor. We had a buyer and an offer! It wasn't a good offer by any stretch of the imagination, but we decided it was in our best interest to accept. We were actually at a dear friend's beach house when everything started falling into place, and we had a grand time rejoicing and celebrating with them. I quietly spent the weekend celebrating God's work in my heart, praising Him and thanking Him for His goodness.

And that brings us to present! Jason has been working on the financial part of things so we are able to have enough cash for closing, I've been coordinating the inspection, and - as it stands - we should be able to submit our application to the adoption agency and have our home study completed in the next 60-90 days!

Friends, I have learned so much through this, and I had to learn it the hard way. But learn it, I did! God's character is not determined by our circumstances. He never changes. Nothing surprises Him or catches Him off-guard. I also learned that there is no better place to be than in the shadow of His wing. Because even when things fall apart, He is there to keep me together. How can He do that if I remove myself from His presence and try to venture out on my own?

So remember this: When the going gets tough, God is tougher!

Hope to share some great news with you soon. Thanks for reading, praying, and supporting us through thick and thin!