Verse of the Day

Sunday, December 18, 2011

WAITING....

We've been back from Ethiopia for two weeks, and we still have not received our final court approval. I am encouraged that CHI has finally located S.'s grandmother; she has relocated to Southern Ethiopia for the coffee harvest. Even as we speak, a CHI representative is in route to some small remote village to find Grandma. We were told that the CHI driver would be on the road for several hours, then leaving his car and walking to her village... a 3 day walk! Then, Grandma needs to walk back to the car with the driver, hit the road for Addis, and then go to court. Grandma does have a court hearing scheduled for December 19, but if she does not make it in time, the court will allow her to appear at her earliest convenience.

We take so much for granted, don't we? Can any of us imagine the above scenario? First, it reflects the admirable love and devotion of a grandmother to her grandchild. Because she initiated the adoption, we assume that she also understood the hardship such a decision would bring upon her. She knew she had to continue working, following the coffee harvest to many parts of the region; she also knew that she was alone responsible for all the legal paperwork for S. And it's not a small stack of paperwork. The process includes lots of forms, interviews, and digging. And still, she made the unselfish decision to give her grandson a new family. What a gift! What love! I hope to meet her someday.... Second, this scenario shows us just how much we take for granted and how we fail to understand how much of the world operates.

In America, we live live by the clock, basing many of our decisions of how we can benefit and how we can squeeze more activity into the day. We operate under the assumption that hard work leads to success, and that if you just work quickly and intelligently, success will follow. We feel that we are entitled to excellent education, well-paying jobs, mini-mansions, and fast cars. Our "necessities" are not universal, however. In Ethiopia, necessity is just that: do you need something to live? That is necessity. America needs to reexamine "needs" versus "wants." Do we "need" a car, or do we simply "want" the convenience a car offers? Do we "need" more food, or do we just "want" some comfort? What are you wrestling with right now? Want or need?

Thanks, Grandma for the perspective. Your sacrifice helps me to put waiting--- my want for your grandson-- into an appreciative and grateful context. God will bring S. to his new family at just the right time: not early or late. He's always perfectly on time.


1 comment:

  1. Great perspective! I can hardly wait to see his precious face in a picture after you pass court.

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