Lesson in Waiting Part 2

I didn't really intend for this to be a series of blogs, but God is continuing to reveal things to me on this journey. As I said before he has been calling me to get my house in order. That means physically, spiritually, and emotionally. That has become a fulltime job, but it is definitely building some character in each member of our household.
Months ago we were praying for the New BP to be home in July, but July is almost here and we are only a little bit further along than we were 6 months ago (or at least it feels that way). It makes me take note of how unprepared we were to have that request granted. We are not ready to complete an adoption one month from now. But we are getting equipped to be ready 7 months from now.
One aspect of adoption that has recently caught my attention is what is known as cocooning. Cocooning is the initial process of bonding and attachment. It's essentially the first stages of getting your new adoptive child acclimated to family life. Each adoptive family is different in how they go through this phase. I've also been evaluating my own parenting and have come to terms with the fact that  my children  need to go through a "cocooning" phase so that we can be ready post-adoption.
Things were crazy and chaotic with 3 kids, then we suddenly found ourselves parenting an infant, and we were still forging through our adoption process. On mother's day I burst into tears because I felt like I was caving under the pressure of my own home. God put me on a  new path that very day and I vowed things would be different. Yes I was a stay-at-home mom, that homeschools, and is in charge of maintaining the ship, but it shouldn't be like this. I shouldn't be running from one crazy moment to the next.
God is using this time to teach our family how to really be a family.  Not just a house full of people with a smokin hot, yet frazzled maid. (Okay, so maybe I do walk around with a purple head scarf on all day...who cares. I'm smokin hot when I leave my dungeon and that is what really matters ) :-)  We are having to (re)educate our children on being part of a team, using loving words, being obedient, accountability, and responsibility. But I'm also learning I can't do that as a stressed out mom. I have to let lose and have fun sometimes.
We put them on a videogame hiatus for a week and a half. I/we focused on cleaning out the closets in order to make the rest of our home reorganisation smoother. Now that we are finished with that and most of the house, we are going to take next week to have more fun than work and hopefully finish up stage 1 of this process. The week after that I want to do all fun and almost no work. I want our relationships to be built so when the responsibilities come back into play we can feel like we are in this together.
It would have been a sad sad thing to have had New BP home and our house not be as functional as it could be. God is preparing us to teach our son how to be in a family by first teaching us to truly be one. There is a difference in being members of a family and being a family. As a family we are able to work as a unit.
I know this is only the beginning of the lessons we will learn in the next several months. He is already paving the way to test our faith in some big ways. We are about to face some major challenges as a DOD family, but God will use those too. (Probably another blog coming soon)
With each transition I experience in my life I'm able to learn that I am stronger than I thought. God is going to use me and my stories to one day help other women discover their strength. But this is what the big take away should be...I'm stronger than I think because I think about MY power, but God activates HIS power through me, which is where my strength truly comes from.
Although I (emotionally) want my son home now, God is using this time to prepare us to be the right forever family for New BP. His first experiences at home are going to have a lasting impact. I want them to be good experiences full of love, care, healing, fun,order, and education.

Lesson in Waiting

This week I have been experiencing a lot of feelings.  Our homestudy is complete and we are just waiting for it to be reviewed. This is such an exciting time because it has been a long time coming. Most families do not spend almost a full year just trying to complete a homestudy. 
I was pondering this today and all the things that have been going on over the last week or so.  I realized that God is using this extremely long wait time to get our home in order.  There are so many things physically, spiritually, and emotionally that need to be put into place so that our son can come home.  We are ready in our own minds, but God has some things in us that need to be worked out. 
I have really been cleaning house over the last week or so and it is proving to be a daunting task.  We have only lived here a year and a half and we got rid of a ton of stuff when we moved, but still here it is a year later I am getting rid of a ton of stuff.  I even did a huge spring clean right before Easter last year, so it's not even a complete year and half's worth of stuff I am dumping. 
I have realized how we need these remaining months to create a functional schedule.  We have 3 homeschoolers and an infant, so order is going to be a must. Lots of  time will have to be committed to getting the new BP adjusted to his american life, that getting the others in tip top shape beforehand is not an option.  It means reevaluating our parenting styles (which is always good anyway), giving everything a place in our home, checking in with God to see what needs to be cleaned out of our spiritual closets, and giving our days order. 
Of course what will work now will still need to be adjusted post-adoption, but making transitions now will help smooth out transition later. I am really starting to see that adoption is not something you can ever truly plan for. It is a process of faith and growth...one step at a time.  It would be completely overwhelming if God gave it all to you up front.  Just the process part of adoption alters your life, even before the child is home. Chipping away at it piece by piece is very much a testing of faith, will, and resolve. 
Some days this thing is emotionally and physically painful.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't have moments where I thought about giving up...but "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." (Prov 19:21).  This is God's plan and purpose.  We can take the easy road or the long one, but his purpose will prevail.  I would much rather go through the initial dinks and dings that are part of the process than taking a round about way just to end up exactly where God told me I was going to be anyway. 
Our son is depending on us to get this right.  God has a call and a purpose for his life.  He has people that he will impact because of our diligence.  Who am I to slow that down? BUT, I can't speed up the process either, because God needs us to have certain things in place for his arrival home. He won't do anything out of order.  Most moms spend about 3 months nesting. I guess I am going to spend the next 7 doing the same.  Our house must be in proper order; body, mind, and spirit, so that our new BP can fulfill his purpose when he is here. :D
Queen bee