Hello! I have been very slow in posting updates, but it turns out we really didn't have anything to share until today when we met with Doris the head of the agency. We knew this meeting was coming ever since our home study was approved and submitted. I was having a hard time trying to stay calm thinking about it and wondering how intense it would be. All we knew is that it could take around 2 hours or more and we would be one on one in a room with Doris who we hadn't really even had a conversation with yet. We weren't sure what to expect.
Right away Doris just began talking to us about anything and everything and I quickly relaxed as realized this was going to be O.K. She was very easy to talk to and you could just tell how much she cared about the agency and the birth mothers as well as you as an adoptive couple. She has such a heart for adoption and you can tell God put the calling on her life. We discussed in detail each of our autobiographies we wrote a while back and she had many highlighted areas to go over that may have raised concerns with her when she read them through. She had so much insight and knowledge to share...I felt really blessed to be in the meeting and tried to absorb all her wisdom she shared. One of the biggest areas she wants to see growth in is our marriage. I am not saying we have a bad marriage, but reading our autobiographies she could tell we need to spend more time going on date nights and taking short weekend trips together. I couldn't agree more. Anyone who has kids knows that there are so many needs and demands for your child that your own needs tend to get put aside and many sacrifices are made. She told us about the 5 C's of a good marriage: Christ (your marriage must be Christ centered to be healthy), Communication (no marriage can survive without communication), Commitment (it takes this on the good and bad days), Compatibility (we need to help each other out in areas of strengths/weaknesses), and Compromise (one person can not always be right you have to have compromise on the way things are done or how choices are made). I think these 5 things are good for all of married couples to remember and try to practice. She spoke so truthfully and so many of the things she said really hit home for us and helped us realize what we need to work on, she was like a mom talking to her children and it was easy to see how much she cared about us, she kept saying she always wants to see these couples that come through the agency succeed in life. Another saying that I wanted to pass along from her was something her grandmother used to say to her, "before your feet hit the floor each morning you should pray and ask God for Wisdom and Discernment each day, Wisdom to do the right thing and Discernment to help read other people."
We left the meeting feeling so refreshed and uplifted! It was a 2.5 hour meeting for us, but the time flew by. Doris requested to have another meeting with us in 6 weeks to follow up on if we are taking her suggestions and see how we are doing. I can't wait to meet with her again.
From here we will wait to be contacted by another lady at the agency who will help us get set up on their website and then it just the waiting period until we get the call that we have been matched with a birth mother. I can't even imagine what that feeling will be like just thinking about it now. I am sure it will be surreal, especially since you never know how long it will be or when it will come. All of our work is mostly done but it could still be a while before we hear the new that we have been matched and go to meet the birth mother for the first time. We will be in prayer for the right timing and the right match.
