Have you ever waited for a job promotion?  For a loved one to be healed? For God to send you a spouse? To adopt a child?

If you are an adoptive couple, waiting for a child to be placed in your home is probably the most difficult part of your journey. Some of you have struggled with infertility or pregnancy loss.  Others have grieved the loss of an adoptive placement when a birth mother changed her mind.  Yes, waiting is tough.

Waiting couples can lean on each other and can also look to God for comfort.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11.

Remember, that while you’re waiting for a family, you already are a family of two. Take time to be together, sharing new adventures and quiet times. Be patient with each other. You won’t always have the same feelings about waiting as your spouse does, or deal with those feelings in the same way.

It’s common to question God’s plan when surrounded by news of unwed pregnant teens, women choosing abortions, and children living in abuse or neglect. Remember that God sees the big picture, and that He has a plan for every unborn child and every mother in addition to His plans for you.

Keep in mind that God does not only say “yes” or “no”.  Sometimes He says “wait”.

So “be still and know that I am God…” Psalm 46:10.

You may not always see His will for your life as good. It takes faith to wait with an open and hopeful heart.  Seek Him in prayer, trusting in His love and mercy for you, shown through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Great resources to consider reading during your season of waiting:

“Hannah’s Hope: Seeking God’s Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage and Adoption Loss”, by Jennifer Saake; NavPress, 2005

“A Graceful Waiting”, by Jan Frank; Servant Publications, 1996

“He Remembers the Barren”, by Katie Schuermann; 2^nd Ed., Concordia Publishing House, 2017