Anyone in the Labor Pains of Adoption?

November is National Adoption Month.

As a mama who has walked through both domestic and international adoptions, this month stirs up so many emotions.  Emotions of both joy and pain.  Thoughts of birth parents, stories of orphanages.  The hoops, the paperwork.  Monthly pictures sent of those sweet smiling faces, just waiting.   Oh, the waiting.  It really is the hardest part.  I’ve often said that when you adopt you may not experience physical contractions, but you LABOR those children home.  Anyone?

My friend, Diane, has experienced those labor pains.  Two long years of incredible highs and heart-shattering lows.  The waiting, the wondering, the unfulfilled hope… so much at times that it seemed she couldn’t take any more.

Maybe you are in the middle of those labor pains:

• Maybe you are stuck in the middle of the mounds of paperwork, wondering when and how everything will be accomplished.
• Maybe you’ve submitted every last piece of documentation, yet they just need “one more thing”.
• Maybe your home study needs to be renewed.  Again.
• Maybe you are afraid of all the unknown pieces that haven’t come together yet.
• Maybe you feel like it’s just never going to happen.

Oh, friend, I so get that.  You are not alone.

A friend once told me that sometimes when you’re in the middle of all this crazy adoption stuff you just need to hear the stories of others to know that you are not, in fact, crazy.  That there is hope, even if you can’t see it.  

So today, this . . . this post (and her subsequent ones) from my friend, Diane.  It is so beautifully written, such an honest portrayal of a mother’s heart, searching and longing for her child.  My prayer is that it will encourage even just one of you, to know that you are not forgotten, there is hope, and that God is intentionally making a way for you.  And for your family…

“Two exact years. There were moments after we began this process that we thought we couldn’t go on. It was too hard. Too painful. Very little has been easy with this adoption. This process has taken more turns than any ride at Lakeside.”  Continue reading…