Timing

According to latest speculation, based on a number of factors including the eleven months which have passed for the next set of families waiting for approval/referral, our wait has gone up considerably since we began this process.  When we started, we thought perhaps we'd be traveling to pick up our daughter late winter/early spring.  Currently, we will not be surprised if our wait takes us into next fall/early winter.  While I feel like I SHOULD be upset about this, I'm not and I'm pretty sure I know why.  We waited three very long, trying, faith-stretching, patience-building, hopeful years for God to bless us with Sarah.  It was a test of my faith like no other I'd experienced and honestly, I nearly failed. What brought me into a place of peace with God's timing was the encouragement and challenge of God-given friends who spoke words of truth to us when we needed to hear them.  A verse sent to me by a wise friend reads, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  This verse changed my perspective, as I began to practice intentional gratitude "in all circumstances."  What I have learned as a result is that joy comes from contentedness rooted in gratitude. In this circumstance of extended waiting for our daughter to come home, I choose to focus on all the ways in which God's love, peace, hope, and power have revealed themselves to our family already in so many unexpected and undeserved ways.