During this two year journey to our sweet Ugandan boy there have been many trials for Wayne and me. I feel like I often express frustration with the situations that have come about in those two years more than I focus on the wonderful things that we have gained. I saw an adoption t-shirt on the internet that said "Adoption gives you different stretch marks" and I thought it was totally stupid and would never wear it. But, when I think about these last two years we have been stretched time and time again. God has used this time to draw us closer to Him and closer to one another. I've worked at giving up control of situations and laying them down at Jesus' feet because I cannot and will not ever be able to plan my life better than He does. His will and ways are not always my will and the Bible tells us that they are definitely higher than my ways!! :) As a control likin' person that it a hard, bitter pill to swallow. And, in my stubbornness I find that lesson being repeated time and time again. So, I'm 7,800 miles away from home, my family and my main support system and I finally laid it all down. And, it felt so good to know that He's got this. And He does.
A little bit shy of two years ago I "met" Tracy through our adoption group facebook page. We were both totally new to the adoption process and were in learning as we go mode. We learned that our boys were around the same age (as are our bio kids!!), were living at the same orphanage and that we had a lot of things in common. We started emailing & chatting on the phone and we bonded-big time. We met Tracy and her sweet family for dinner one night on our way to Disney (that meeting at Five Guys is now standard practice when we sneak away to Disney for a few days!) and I remember one moment looking around the table at all of us paired off having conversations and felt so much like we had all met lifelong friends. It was an amazing feeling and I totally felt like it was all God...little did we know in the coming months just how much we would lean on each other as our processes hit major road bumps at every turn. We traveled at the same time as them in July and felt like we were here with old friends as opposed to a couple we hadn't known for years and years. God is so faithful to provide all of our needs...even putting people in place exactly when we need them...
But, this isn't really a story about Jenn & Tracy...this is about our boys.
On the last trip we learned that our sons shared the same little bed and pal around together at the orphanage. I loved that as we were developing a relationship that our boys were doing the exact same thing. The day we left the orphanage was such an amazing moment for us because I knew that our EC would never sleep in an orphanage again. But, many nights after that I thought about his buddy J and prayed that he was able to sleep without his (very wiggly) bunk buddy. EC has talked about J numerous times a day for 3 loooong weeks. In fact, last week on an especially frazzling day Wayne said to me, "Honey, hang in there, J will be there in 3 days!!" Yesterday we had the honor of tagging along while Tracy went to sign J out of the orphanage forever! It was so awesome. I know how I felt when we went and being there as my friend did the same thing was so special...because we've walked through a lot of ugly together! I have pictures of Tracy holding J while EC is beside her holding on to J's leg. Totally PRESH! And, the fun continued all day as they realized that we were all bunking up in our 1 bedroom apartment! If we weren't close before this we certainly will be! :) Last night we decided that the boys could sleep in the bed & we would take the couches. We each checked on them several times last evening and found that they had each made their way to the middle of the bed. We found them exactly like that this morning as well. It was the sweetest thing that I have seen. I love watching them together and seeing them open up around one another. It was symbolic of my friendship with Tracy as well starting out the journey separately but ending up in the middle of all of this adoption nonsense holding on for dear life! :)
So, today, I'm just feeling really grateful. So much good has come out of this journey and I don't want to forget that. God gave me someone that I could laugh with, cry to, vent to and know that she has felt or experienced the exact same way. He put is in country together (TWICE) because I think He knew that I would need that. He gave our families lifelong friends...but he didn't just do it for me or Tracy or Jason or Wayne.
He did it for them, too.
These two will always have one another. They will always have a link to their childhood. They will have a buddy to tromp around Uganda with when we return every five years (woohoo) and because of the foundation of friendship that we built during our two years of waiting we've ensured that our sons will also be able to maintain their bond and a tie to the country that both of our families love.
I'm praising the One that put all of this into place. Thankful for these moments that Tracy & I get to spend together and looking forward to making a lot more wonderful family memories with two more wonderful boys added to the mix. :)
