All along I have been comparing the Nicaraguan adoption
experience to that of running a half marathon with no road map. I wish I knew for sure if the finish line was
up ahead, but sadly I think there will be a few added miles to this particular race.
So mile 11! This is
what my scenery looks like right now….
- Loving a little girl with so much confusion and fear of the unknown
- Learning and teaching about grace and the impact it can have on her heart and mine
- Chasing after a very rambunctious toddler, think ping pong ball and that will paint a mental picture of her constant motion
- Trying to find time to seek God’s guidance in the moment, prayers like “Dear God, just help me now” play out silently in my mind and heart.
- Thinking that there is an earthquake each time something shakes or gets bumped, taking really fast showers just in case, and seeking my escape route every place I go (they actually have evacuation route signs everywhere to help with that)
- Praising God for good friends that will let you tag along on outings to fight boredom and being thankful for translators that help with important things like getting my visa renewed (don’t try to make a foreign immigration worker laugh, they are trained to look fierce and not crack a smile)
- Going to see the same movie (Rio2) in Spanish over and over again (turns out I needed to see it more than once to really understand) I laughed harder the second time!
- Eating Burger King, for the first time EVER, I was craving a cheeseburger in the worst way…just as I suspected, I did not satisfy the craving!
- Going to the grocery store and buying rum, grapes, and pull ups will get the strangest look from the grocery clerk! Of the three items, the grapes were the most expensive! I introduced them to grapes last week and they keep asking for them…they have to be imported here….at a very high price. That is love!
- Spending Easter without the rest of my family and never feeling more homesick.
- Praying we hear news this week about an approval and a meeting with the judge, that the earth remains calm, and that my friends traveling this week and next are safe!
Knowing that this race I am on
will not stop at mile 13 or anytime after, but that the race I am running is
about obedience, learning, seeking, and growing closer to the one that loves me
the most! And while completing this process and moving back home will seem like a prize, there is an even better prize I seek!
“Do you not know
that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” 1
Corinthians 9:24
