Good news

Tonight we had some dear friends over to decorate Easter cookies. Yum! You should see the aftermath -- a hefty collection of cookie decorations on my kitchen floor . . .

This week brings good news in many forms. As some of you know, we've been #7 on the waiting list for referrals (that's adoption lingo for being matched with a child) for several months. The reason was that our orphanage was waiting for a particular license to be renewed by a national adoption authority. They'd submitted the proper paperwork on time, but were not getting any answer.

Earlier this week, we received an e-mail from our adoption agency that said a temporary 6-month license will be issued so that children can continue to be matched with families while they wait for the "permanent" renewal. That's great news for everyone who is waiting! Hopefully, several children's paperwork has been completed, and so several families waiting ahead of us will find out who their new sons or daughters are.

In general, the wait had felt easier this time -- being busy with three kids has made it go by a little more quickly, I think. But with no news since the beginning of the year, I did feel like a little hopelessness was creeping in. As much as we trust that God has a particular little girl chosen for us, and as much as we know that His timing is best, we were wondering, "how long?" What a breath of fresh air and renewal to hear that things will begin moving again!

More good news . . . yesterday, my brother Matt walked away from what could've been a serious accident on his motorcycle. He was hit by a minivan, but thanks to wearing a helmet and leather jacket, he is okay. He has some bumps and bruises, and spent the afternoon and evening at our house so we could watch for signs of a concussion. I was feeling so grateful yesterday that our day didn't end up with him in the hospital . . . God was certainly watching over him.

The other Good News, of course, is that we're celebrating Easter tomorrow. This verse undoes me every time, because it taught me how to forgive after I became a Christian at age 21:
"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 Even before I was sorry for or even aware of my sin, Jesus still chose to die in my place so I could experience heaven someday. I can't believe someone, much less God himself, would do that for me.

Happy Easter!