In God We Trust

I’ve never thought much about pennies, but I’m a mom of 2 boys, so when they see loose change lying in a parking lot, they get excited and quickly pick up their new found treasure.  Not too long ago I read this article, forwarded email, I don’t recall exactly what it was, about pennies.  Go to this link to read the whole story.  It's one of those kitschy, cute things, but something that obviously stuck with me.

The day we realized we’d have to jump through more hoops to get Hu Jing home was the day we declined the sadly low house offer.  I had woken in the dark, wee hours of the morning that day knowing that one or the other would come to an end.  Little did I know the day would end with both losses.  Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t lost our adoption, but we lost the hope that our daughter was coming home soon.  At one point, we were a solid 6-8 weeks away from travel and now we just don’t know when it will happen.  I don’t even want to take a guess as to when we’ll see her sweet face. 

That same afternoon my son came home from school missing his Chicago Bears lunch box.  He said he had looked in the classroom and in the lost and found and still didn’t find it.  My already depleted heart didn’t need more drama.  But we walked back up to the school, checked the classroom and then the lunchroom and found the item without too much trouble.  On the way back to the house a bright shiny penny laid heads up on the sidewalk.  I immediately heard the words, “In God we trust.”  I picked it up and put it in my pocket.  OK, God.  I’ll trust that You know what is best for all four of us, plus our waiting daughter.

Evening came and after the baked potato soup and pretzel bread rolls were scarfed down and the dishes in the dishwasher, I sat on the couch to fold wrinkly laundry.  On the arm of the couch was a penny.  This time it was a grimy old, tarnished, sticky yucky penny, the kind that makes you want to wash your hands immediately after you touch it.  Ick!  I asked if anyone knew how the penny had gotten there and no one knew. 

In God we trust. 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I will react when I finally hold my daughter in my arms.  I don’t know what it will be like.  My typical calm, face-saving self might fly out the window as I sob happy tears while my daughter screams scared, frightened tears.  Yet maybe I’ll hold back my emotions so as to not scare my sweet daughter any further.  But I do know that I will feel such joy, such relief, such gratitude, and such overwhelming love.  Oh, how much more God must have felt when I became a child of His.  What joy, unspeakable joy!  I think about that first penny – bright and shiny, almost new, almost perfect.  I see it as God’s perfect plan of adoption, for He adopted us into His forever family and we are forever His!

But the second penny was a mess, ugly, rotten (if copper plated zinc could rot), almost unrecognizable.  I’d say that’s the way our adoption journey has been since day 1 and God knew it would be that way.   Yes, it’s ugly and gross, but underneath it all it still says, “In God we Trust.”

I may have an update for you in the next few days.  In the meantime, our agency did ask USCIS for an extension on our 45-day deadline as written on the February pink notice so that we could get all our clearances and fingerprints done for the homestudy update.  The latest from USCIS is that the extension will be most likely not be granted.  Our social worker has no choice but to send in the addendum.  A rough draft is at our agency and we are waiting on NE child abuse clearances to arrive before a final draft can be submitted.  Prayers appreciated for those to arrive immediately as our deadline is quickly approaching! 

In God we Trust.                                                                      

We’ll have to wait and see if USCIS will accept just the addendum and not the update our social worker insists we need.  Perhaps another pink notice will follow stating the need for the full update after all.  If that’s the case, our FBI prints are done and out for processing and those should arrive to our social worker within a couple of weeks.  If a full homestudy update will be needed, it will in essence be done and waiting in our back pocket so we won’t have to wait for a darn thing.  It’s frustrating beyond belief as we once again see another group of families leaving for China to pick up their kids in a matter of days.  Please know my heart that I am wholeheartedly thrilled and overjoyed for them and for their children who will no longer be orphans!!!  Yet I just don’t understand why such delays keep overrunning us like a convoy of Mack Trucks.   It’s all for a reason and I’m choosing to leave it in His hands.

In God we Trust.