We’ve been matched!

Its been a while since I have posted, and there was good reason.  We have been waiting.  And waiting. And waiting.

To be honest, I didn’t have the patience to do a post about patience.  (Side note – I also was not effective enough to actually finish reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  But alas, that is a conversation for another day..)

The tide has turned, and now the countdown to China has begun!  This train (perhaps the Oriental Express) is leaving the station. We have been matched with a little girl in China.  The news came the Friday before Mother’s day.  (How cool is that?)  The weeks since then have been packed with yet more paperwork (even though they say we are at the end of the paper chase, I’m not sure I believe them.  Ugh.)

The moment I first heard her story will be a moment I will never forget.  It reminds me a lot of the ultrasound I had with little Hulaloo.  Within a few minutes I had a picture.  I saw her face and I knew she was ours.  To be honest, I knew before I saw her picture.  Here’s why..

I read a lot of books and it takes a lot for me to say that a book really affects me, but the  The Circle Maker was one of those books.  Our small group recently read and discussed the book over several weeks while we ‘ prayed through’ the big issues affecting our lives. The highlights are Dreaming Big, Praying Through and Going Long.  If I said nothing more than that, I think you would agree that the long process of international adoption requires all those things. But wait.  There’s more.

A highpoint of the book for me was a section that discusses the difference of prayer made in true faith.  Most people who pray regularly ask God for guidance and answers with a hopeful attitude and heart.  But like Indiana Jones who steps on to the invisible bridge in The Last Crusade (all things in my life relate back to Indiana Jones, Star Wars or Seinfeld) someone who truly has faith, ACTS with confidence (as if the prayer has already been answered.)  If we truly trust God hears and will answer our prayers, there comes a point where we are assured its a done deal before we actually see it.

As I mentioned before, we have been waiting for a year and a half.  I was starting to waiver a little bit and become weary and impatient.  I had faith, but I was tired and having difficulty understanding why things weren’t moving more quickly.  I believed there was a little girl somewhere in China that was ours, but I wanted to see her little face . I thought about the birthdays we had already missed.  I want her to know that even though we weren’t with her , they were celebrated.  Every year on our little Hulaloo’s birthday, I write her a note that talks about the year and my hopes and dreams for her.  I put a little gift in the card and don’t give it to her.  I save it.  The cards will be a gift for her on her 18th birthday. Since I knew that our newest little one was out there, I decided to act on my faith.  I wrote the first birthday card for her.  I told her about our eager anticipation of her arrival and told her the special meaning behind her name.  Everyone in our family has the middle name Lee and Leigh, spelled differently but part of the same family.  We are different, but we belong together.  I shared with her that her middle name would be Li, spelled in a way that honors her Chinese heritage.  It would be different but fit perfectly in the puzzle God is fitting together to make our family.

Two weeks AFTER I wrote that letter, I got THE CALL.  During the call the agency was describing her medical history and some of the details regarding her life in the orphanage.  The name of the girl? Her last name is Li. 

Yep, you read that right. Her name was already Li. We will truly be honoring and keeping her Chinese name.  God had worked it out already.

This was one of those few AHA moments in my life.  We probably only get a handful of those in our lifetime.  I’m keeping my eyes wide open for more in the next steps of this journey! Keep your eyes wide open for the aha moments God has planned for you. You never know when it will happen!

LLI (Live Life Intentionally)

Your Friend, 

Meredith