Friday, January 27, 2012

Friday's Frequently Asked Question No. 4: "Why is it taking so long?!"

Well, my canned answer for a little over 5 years has been, "it's all in God's timing"  And I still believe this, we both do.  Repeating this aloud sometimes makes the wait a little more bearable, but truly, it's  hard, very hard.  Although I know I serve a loving and sovereign God, I still have an earthly mind that prevents me from understanding the reason for the incredibly long wait.  HIS ways are not our ways.  But I can offer some insight into the logistics of the whole slowdown and why it appears we're on a "slow boat to China".   You see, China has been open to international adoption since 1993, the year we were married.  Overall it has been a very predictable and safe country from which people could choose to adopt.  China does not have any hidden fees, surprises, government corruption or unannounced closures in their adoption program.  China has never closed their adoption program, unlike Guatemala, Vietnam, and Russia, to name just a few.  I say this because, despite all the political and economical turmoil in our world, China's international adoption program has remained constant.  So why such a long wait when they are so safe and predictable?  Well, sorry to make this analogy, and I am definitely not equating adoption to shopping, that's sick!  But I'm going to try to put it in terms you may understand.  Why do you shop where you shop?  You don't shop from a source that is known to scam it's customers or not treat them right or to jack up the price when you get to the check-out.  You shop from a reputable store because you are comfortable the way they do "business".  Let's say you and a gatrillion other people decide you want the same "item" and you've all looked around and decided that this store (again, remember this is only an example- no disrespect intended) is the best "store" to obtain your item/product.  If everybody trusts the store and shows up at the same time to "shop" there's not going to be enough of the product to go around.  Basic supply and demand folks.  And let me tell you, there is no amount of fussing, complaining, stomping your feet, or talking to the manager that will make it happen any quicker.  You are in a line, a long line, two options, stay in line or go to another store.  If God doesn't  send you to the other store, you don't go.  You stay in line. You wait your turn.  When we started the process, we were told we'd have a wait time of 10-12 months, based on the statistics at that time.  As we completed out paperwork in the next 2 1/2 months then the wait grew to 15-18 months.  So we started the process with  a year and a half wait.  The process slowed even more because, let's face it folks, if the item you want, in a store, on-line, or in a catalog is not in stock, that means it's NOT AVAILABLE.  You CAN NOT GET IT until it becomes available. So that is the waiting part, and hopefully while you're waiting in line, you make friends, you read something interesting, chew some gum,  learn patience,  and hopefully learn something about yourself too so when you finally get to the front of the line, you're prepared for what God blesses you with. 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Returning to Blogdom (Blogging kingdom) . . .

or I guess I could call it a Bloggerhood or a Blogmunity, Whatever, it's you folks, out there, that I am communicating with you in my blogging circle.   So sorry I've been away for a while; life, everyday business, boredom, lack of motivation, and the holidays have all kept me away.  But I'm back and hope to make posts at least on a weekly basis.  If you're new, please scroll to the bottom to begin reading the posts in June.  This is a place for me to share news about our adoption and general life happenings as we await the arrival of our Little One.  Chinese Lunar New Year occurs on January 23 of this year- only a few days away and Chinese communities will be celebrating and welcoming the YEAR of the DRAGON!!!! It is very likely that she will be born this year, so yes folks, we're gonna have a Dragon on our hands.  All you people who mock and comment about us spoiling her, well, . .  you may be getting a little lesson in dragon taming yourself!  Have a great day everyone- very icy here this morning - won't be headed out until it thaws, (Meeka fell off the porch when going out for her morning stroll).