Yes, we are still waiting....

Hi friends....
It has been many many months since we have posted an update on our adoption.  No ,we did not fall off the face of the earth and no, we have not stopped hoping and dreaming and waiting for our baby! In these many months, we've gone through many family changes, and many many emotions, but we have never lost hope that we will meet our baby one day soon.
It is now January of 2016 and it has been over 2 years since we started our official journey towards baby.  As of this month, a total of fifteen different birthfamilies have looked at us as a prospective adoptive family....and all fifteen have found a different family for their child.
We have been riding on wave after wave of tempered excitement followed by disapointment once again.
Then 2016 brought our "number sixteen"....and this time we were asked to come meet the birthmother! What joy that we were FINALLY...possibly?...a real option! Dare we hope for.....hope?! This birthmother was a sweet woman who we both enjoyed and found an easy connection with.  I left that meeting with a special love for her in my heart. My prayers were for comfort and clear direction for her as she made this difficult choice.
A few short days later (but it felt like forever), we got the call that the birthmother needed to sort through a few details, but that she planned to place her son with us!
And the breath holding began......dont get too excited, but get prepared.....the baby is coming soon.....do we have diapers?...do i dare go look in the baby's room?.....no, not yet.....just in case...should we tell anyone?...should we tell our son?.....no, lets keep it quiet....i CAN'T keep it quiet!
We managed our "cautious excitement" in the best way we could and I found, once again, that my hubby was my earthly rock and the Lord was my true Strength and Sustainer.

Then the phone rang at 10:30pm......"the baby was born last night...."   I almost took what felt like my first breath in weeks!!! Our son??...was our son born last night?!!!  but then....... "the birthmother has decided to parent her son. She has enough support now. I'm sorry."

And then it was over.
Nothing to say.
No goodbye to this sweet birthmom, no getting to see this little boys face....
No way to figure out how to feel, or what to feel, or what to do now.
My first feeling was to be thankful that God answered my prayer- i had asked Him to help this mom to make the right choice. And He did...and she did.
But then i cried.
And i cried hard.....many many tears...but silently...very silent heavy tears.
It's like a grief you feel you aren't allowed to have. Im supposed to be happy for this family. And, truly, I am. But im also so sad.
Though we had no claim to him, I was beginning to turn my long-held love toward this little boy....and now i felt like i lost my "almost-son"......a loss for certain........a miscarriage of sorts...... an emotional miscarriage.......a miscarriage of hope.
A part of my heart feels vacant.

But despite our sadness or disapointment, we do not hope as the rest of the world hopes....we have a great and gentle Father who knows the desire of our hearts. He has great and perfect plans in mind for us.
Has He abandoned us? No!
Has He forgotten us? No!
Does He promise that this will be easy? No....no, He does not. (But we always knew that.)
BUT.... does He promise to sustain us as we regain our strength to move forward again.....YES, YES, YES!
And so, once again, we are clinging to the hope of Jesus and knowing that we can safely rest in His care.
And so, again, we wait.......so, again, we ask for your prayers for God to give us courage and sustain us as we wait.

our "40 days and 40 nights"

Homemade love awaits our baby- and reminds us of God's faithfulness and His promises through our '40 days and 40 nights!' 

I recently read a great encouragement by Maya Ralston entitled "When God Makes You Wait."
I found such encouragement from it, that I want to share it with you.  Maybe you feeling God is making you wait? Waiting for a job, waiting for a soulmate, waiting for the right home, waiting for healing from a disease....we've all waited for something in our lives.  Im sure we've all had a wait (or two or three) that have tested the soul and given our faith a good shaking.
As we wait for the arrival of our baby (going on 17 months now), we have to cling to the promises God has for us- that His plan, His timing are best for us. We could not arrange it better than He can.
Consider these folks from the Bible who waited:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Jesus could have come and healed Lazarus when he was still alive. INSTEAD, He waited to raise him from the dead when he was already in his grave.

God could have made David become king the day after he was anointed. INSTEAD, he waited 15 years to rise to the throne, many of those years spent fearing for his life, hiding out and running away from his father-in-law.

God could have soken to Moses in he desert about sending him to free His people from slavery 40 days after he ran away from Egypt. INSTEAD, He waited 40 long years.

God could have gotten Joseph out of prison one year after he was sentenced there. INSTEAD, he was stuck in that dungeon for 10 years before he was finally set free.

God could have given Abraham the son He promised him when he was stil la young man. INSTEAD, He waited until Abraham was 100 years oldnand because of physical reasons would have a more difficult time conceiving then.

God could have answered prayers and met the needs of these men of God much quicker, but He didn't. He made them wait instead. And He often makes us do the same.
He makes us wait for healing to come after we've prayed for years and there is no sign of recovery.  He makes us wait to fulfill His call on our lvies after He puts the desire and passion in our hearst to serve Him in a certain way.  He makes us wait to give us the desire of our hearts, whether its a baby, a spouse, or a new job.  He makes us wait for direction when we are stuck at a dead end and we don't know where to go or what to do.  He could answer that same prayer that you've been praying for years every night in a millisecond.  That same prayer that has been bringing you to tears. That same prayer that the longer it goes unanswered, the more it makes you question if He even hears.

He kept Moses in the desert for 40 years, Joseph in a priseon cell for 10 years. He kept Abraham childless for 100 years and David o nthe run for 15 years. And maybe He is keeping you right where you are at for the same reason He kept these men waiting for so many years: to build your faith!
To build you faith in the dungeon cell, during the valley of your life when it's too dark to see and too hard to believe.  To build your independence on Him when you are barren and empty to see if He is truly all you desire and all you need.  To see how well you wil ltrust and serve Him when you are still stuck in the background somewhere, doing seemingly nothing too significant for Him.  To build your trust in Him when the storm keeps raging, the battle keeps going and breakthrough and victory doesn't seem near.

See.....sometimes the waiting period of our lives is the most important time of our life!
It is during this period when nothing seems to be happening, when prayers seem to go unanswered, when God seems so far away that the most spiritual growth happens in our lives.  That we learn to be more like Him.  It is during this time that we build spiritual "muscle."  We grow i nfaith.  We learn to only depend on Him.

What are you waiting for today?
What longing do you have that seems so far from ever being fulfilled? What prayer do you keep on praying that seems out of reach of God's ears?  I want to remin you that God is not deaf to your prayers.  He is not blind to your tears, to your desires, and to your needs.

If He is making you wait, there is a very good reason for it!
If He is telling you 'no' today. maybe it's because He has a better 'yes' waiting for you tomorrow. If He is keeping you in the same place you've always been today, maybe it's because He's building your faith before you can enter the Promised Land tomorrow.  If He is not healing you or bringing you victory today, maybe it's because you will have a greater testimony when He waits to help you be an overcomer tomorrow.

Wherever you are today, know that God is right beside you and that there is a purpose for you.  Even if the purpose is to wait.  Don't give up just because you don't see anything happening today.  Maybe there is nothing physically happening that your eyes can see but there is definitely something happening in the spiritual realm as you learn to rely on Christ.

Don't allow your waiting period to make you hopeless about what tomorrow will bring.
Instead, let it build your faith and give you even greater hope for what God has prepared for you.  He amde some of the greatest men of faith wait. Don't be discouraged if He makes you wait as well.  He will come through for you, just as He came through for them!

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Psalm 27:14"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Don't give up just because you don't see anything happening today.  Maybe there is nothing physically happening that your eyes can see but there is definitely something happening in the spiritual realm as you learn to rely on Christ."
These words are a powerful encouragement that I repeat to myself daily when I feel sad or confused or frustrated that our baby has not arrived yet.
So I pray for our baby and count my blessings in the meantime.
Noah and his family waited 40 days and 40 nights in a stinky boat full of animals with only endless stormy ocean surrounding them.  I think of his wait on God often because our baby's room is decorated with the Noah's ark theme.  (It seems all to appropriate the longer we wait.)  We all wait in some way at some time, so as I pray for us to remain focused on God's faithfulness during our wait, I pray for others too.
Though our waits are different, we are all really in the same boat together!

We are a 'Lifesong for Orphans' family!

                                                                                                              

March 9, 2015

Dear church, family, and friends of Dave & Jennifer Metz,

                                                 

God desires orphans of all nations to be adopted into Christ-honoring families so they can hear the

Word of God and ultimately be adopted into God’s eternal family through faith in Jesus Christ.  While God calls us to fulfill James 1:27 and “visit the fatherless” not all are called to adopt.  Some are called to pray, some to give financially, some to go on mission trips, and some to adopt.

Lifesong for Orphans is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to help meet the needs of orphan children around the world, and to obey God’s call to “visit the fatherless…in their affliction” (James 1:27).  With over 147 million orphans worldwide, Lifesong seeks to mobilize the Body of Christ to love and care for orphans.  Lifesong serves families, churches and orphans through adoption funding.  Additionally, Lifesong brings joy and purpose to orphans globally in seven countries and domestically through foster care initiatives.  Please visit our website (www.lifesongfororphans.org) for more information.

Dave & Jennifer have sensed God’s call to care for the fatherless and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt a child here in the states.  As you may already know, adoption can cost $25,000-$35,000, and this financial burden prevents many godly families from adopting.  Lifesong believes God has called this family to adoption and invites you to support them financially to help them bring this sweet baby home.  

Funds donated to Lifesong for Orphans will be given to help cover adoption expenses. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your gift is tax deductible.  100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs.  

Will you invest financially in the life of this child?  It will be an investment with eternal return.  God bless you for laying your treasures up in Heaven.

For His Glory,

Andy Lehman Vice President

Bringing Joy and Purpose to Orphans

PO Box 40 Ÿ Gridley, IL 61744

P 309.747.4527 Ÿ F 309.747.4647 Ÿ www.lifesongfororphans.org

  

I'm a guest blogger!

Thanks to Christina, Tiffany, and MaryAnn for letting me part of your awesome blog!!! Check it out!
http://www.playeatgrow.com/2015/03/how-do-i-talk-to-my-child-about-adoption.html

Growing in our Hearts Fundraiser Blessings

Encouraging, tagging, donating, setting up, baking yummies, shopping, bagging...so many friends, family, and strangers came out to encourage our family and the Galbraith family at the Growing in our Hearts Fundraiser. 
Our sale was an overwhelming blessing financially but in other ways- ways that are closer to my heart.....
One woman and her daughter came in to shop at the sale and spent a long time telling me their adoption story.  Her daughter was shopping for loads of pink anything and was buying for her baby sister....they left with lots of great deals and I was left with a double blessing.
Thank you immensely for the wonderful turn out and support!

Two Family Fundraiser Coming March 14th!!!

We are so grateful to the Galbraith family for including us in their adoption fundraiser sale!

We are currently taking donation of gently used children's clothing/ toys/ items, homemade crafts, and other gently used household items to sell.  We are willing to pick up donations from nearby friends- all donations must be recevied by Sunday March 8th.

Looking for Bakers too! All baked good sales will benefit the Galbraith family, and sellable donations can be given to the Galbraith family as well.

Please spread the word and come on out and shop!!!!!!

All the pieces are coming together!

Our adoption puzzle is filling with names of wonderful people who have generously given their dollars, the support, and their prayers to us in our journey.  We are thankful and honored to be so loved!
(to become a piece of our puzzle, we are asking for a $5 per piece donation to acheive our fundraising goal. a paypal link is available here on our blog if this is something you would like to participate in!)
Thank you for blessing us and our baby-to -be.  This baby is so loved by so many people already!!!