God's Perfect Timing: The Petersheim Family

From time to time we are going to feature "God's Perfect Timing" testimonies from adoptive families.  I'm grateful for the Petersheim family and am glad they are sharing a little piece of their story with us.  Enjoy!

Last year, on October 8th, my family and I went to a local farm show. I remember watching our children, drunk on the excitement of farm animals to pet, cotton candy to eat and whirling rides to spin on. Their smiles and giggles were so infectious that everyone around them was grinning from ear to ear. Except me...their mother. My heart was a mess.

We were waiting on our 4th child, a little girl in Ethiopia. We had made it through the summer of court closure, biting our nails with worry and impatience...eyes focused on this very week in October. However, instead of good news pouring in, all became very quiet...and an ominous feeling was in the air.

Somehow, I knew the things we had been fervently praying about weren't going to take place. At least not at all in the timing we had so longed for. That day - at the farm show - I felt so defeated, so confused as to what God was doing in my life.

We had sought Him out on our adoption journey - He had confirmed so many things along our path...and now, it seemed - it FELT- like He had just fallen silent.If only I had known...if only...that at the very moment I was at my most lost...the very moment I was without faith...was the moment that in a world away, God was doing His most mighty, gracious work in my life.

On October 8th, while I was picking up baby chicks in a petting zoo - a tiny baby - barely weighing 1 kilogram - was being picked up by a police officer.

A little girl...who would fight for her life through sickness and malnutrition, a little girl without earthly parents but with a Heavenly Father watching over her...this little girl's beautiful face would show up on my computer screen 3 months later...as MINE. The two of us...put together by a God who knows best. Who asked me to wait...because HE knew what I was waiting for.

On October 8th this year, we took this little girl - our 4th beautiful daughter - along to the farm show. I watched my birthday girl moo at cows, laugh at her sisters' giggles, cuddle close to her daddy. And I was so thankful. God's ways are not my ways; His timing is not my timing - it is Oh-SO-infinitely better.

 

 

Thankful

It's almost Thanksgiving here in the USA and my children have been doing some Thanksgiving crafts at daycare.  After work yesterday, I picked up my kids and this craft was proudly hanging in my 4 year old sons classroom.

What a precious picture.  My son is thankful for me...and hamster.  I stood in his classroom and smiled (I even might have laughed out loud).  His teacher said, "It's ok, I am 20 and I have a hamster."  I laughed and said, "Except, we don't own a hamster".  She joined in laughing with me.  I'm so thankful for my children and how they make me laugh.  In addition, I now know that my 4 year old apparently wants a hamster!

Let's Talk:  As we head into Thanksgiving, what are you most thankful for?  Leave a comment below with some things (big or small) that you are thankful for....

Blessed?

We have a guest blogger today!  Katie Ganshert is the author of Wildflowers from Winter and Wishing on Willows (releases March 19, 2013).  She was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love.  When she is not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels and coffee.  She and her husband are in the process of adopting from the Congo.  You can find her online at her blog and on Facebook.

 

I'm so grateful for other Christian women that I have had the opportunity to meet and to get to know.  She is a mom that is in the "waiting process" with the rest of us.  I had the opportunity to read Katie's first novel and she is a very talented writer! Enjoy what Katie has to share with us and be sure to check out her novel - it's a great read!!

 

Blessed?

by Katie Ganshert

We find out a friend's pregnant and we say, "What a blessing!" And the woman who's barren wonders.....

We see smiling parents with well-adjusted attached children and we say, “What a blessing!” And the parent who are struggling with their newest little one wonders…

We see big, healthy families in big, beautiful houses and we say, "What a blessing!" And the mother struggling with the medical bills wonders....

Am I blessed?

Here in America, blessing is usually synonymous with good fortune. Whether that be money or health or success or popularity or beauty or (fill in the blank). We think if good things happen to us, then God must be blessing us. Which is fine and might even be true. But for every definition we construct, there's an unspoken opposite that simmers beneath it.

If blessed means fertility, then the infertile woman isn't blessed.

If blessed means attached children, then the parents struggling with attachment aren’t blessed.

If blessed means health and prosperity, then the unhealthy and poor aren't blessed.

And if we're not blessed, we must be doing something wrong. Somehow we're missing the point. God's not pleased with us. Maybe even upset with us. We're undeserving....less loved.

Then Jesus opens his mouth and says...

“Blessed are thepoor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are themeek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven...."

Wow. Rejoice and be glad.

Because it's the hard stuff that removes our hope from this shifting world and pins it on an unchanging God. It's the hard stuff that brings us to our knees and draws us close to Him. And drawing close to Him.....wow. What a blessing.

Let's Talk: Do you go through periods in life where you don't feel blessed? Do you equate good fortune with blessing? If you could pull up a chair with God and ask Him what it means to be blessed, what do you think He'd say?

 

I Hate Waiting

Today we have a guest post on the blog.  Dave Wood, International Director, at Lifeline Children's Services is a friend of mine and he has graciously allowed me to post one of his poetry pieces on the blog.  Dave has over 25 years of professional experience working with families and children. In addition to Lifeline, Dave has served in most every pastoral position along with serving as Director of Precious Child, a crisis pregnancy center. Dave’s passion is finding incredible families for orphaned children through the avenue of International adoption. Dave is married to Johnna and they are the proud parents of three children.

I have learned so much from Dave about leadership, encouragement, and what families need as they walk through the adoption process.  I'm grateful for his friendship and I think he has nicely expressed what many of us think and feel during the adoption process.

Thanks Dave!

I HATE WAITING

Ok, I'm just going to say this, be confessional and admit;

That I hate waiting, it makes me want to throw a hissy fit.

I know that doesn't sound spiritual, but it surely is the truth;

Standing around, hands in my pockets, is totally uncouth.

Dependent on someone else... ugh, the intolerableness of it all;

Makes me want to scream, when progress comes to a crawl.

It was fine when I was a baby, and didn't know any better;

If I sat there all day, in a diaper getting wetter and wetter.

Maybe this is why, we don't remember those early days;

To keep us from blowing a gasket, and coming off as crazed.

Is anyone with me here, or am I in this struggle all alone;

That I hate waiting, in every single form that can be known.

The grocery store for instance, there's a conspiracy against me;

It's true whatever line I pick, I'll get the new and slow trainee.

So if you ever see me in a store, please pick the other line;

You'll be out of there so fast, back home, relaxed in no time.

I wish that I were done, but there's something more to be said;

I hope this won't offend, and it's submitted with some dread.

In those times I have to wait, the very last thing I want to hear;

Is a spiritual pep talk on patience, lets make that crystal clear.

I know patience is a virtue, God is working things for my good;

He loves me in my circumstance, even when I've misunderstood.

Telling myself these things, while standing in another line that lags;

Yeah, down at the DMV, I've been waiting three hours for car tags.

So I get it my Christian brother, even if it appears I don't engage;

It's just hard to hear it, from a guy who struggles with road rage.

No where is your patience more tested, than on the adoption trail;

Before the Promise land, a wilderness, many times you'll want to bail.

But in my office are scores of pictures, children who've found a home;

Each of them a thousand word sermon, that you will not always roam.

Narrative Poem

Copyright © 2011 Dave Wood


Let's Talk About It:  Waiting it something we have to do every day!  We will never be done with waiting and being patient.  Why is it that we have such a hard time with waiting?


 

Why "A Road To Here"?

Jeremiah 29:11 says: "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."  My road to here is not something that I would have scripted on my own. I am beyond thankful to be right where I am.  I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father that knew exactly what I needed and has plans laid out for my life. 

 

Those of you that know me are aware that I am very passionate about a few main things: my Lord, my husband, my two boys, and my job (orphan care/adoption). You won't talk to me very long and not hear me mention at least one of the four listed above, if not all of them. It is my desire with this blog to write about the things that we learn as we journey through life together. I want to write about my "Road to Here" and I want to learn about your "Road to Here". What would you have said if someone had asked you 20 years ago what you thought you would be doing in November 2012? I never would have said that I would be living in the USA let alone with an awesome husband, two precious boys (that joined our family from Ethiopia), and working for an orphan care ministry.

 

It is my prayer that through this blog we can journey together through your adoption process and down the road of life and we can find ways to grow together, learn from each other, and discover new ways to be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, and a more consistent follower of Christ.

 

 

Being Thankful

 

 

Hurricane Sandy? A miscarriage? No job? Sickness? Cancer? Bankruptcy? Divorce?  There is so much hurt, disappointment, and so much sadness in our lives.  There are so many trials that we could be facing at any point in time. When asked for prayer requests most of us could give a list that would fill an entire 8x11 piece of paper.  That is ok.  We live in a fallen world and there will be pain and sadness. 

Through the trials, the pain, the sadness, have you ever considered keeping a Thankfulness Journal?  When we go before The Lord in prayer we tend to give a list of requests and things that we want Him to do for us.  Requests are not a bad thing but I challenge you to also be thankful.  I challenge you to write down 3 or 4 things each day that you are thankful for.  Through the hurt, the pain, etc, we can see that there is still so much in which we can express thankfulness.

The month of November has prompted many Facebook users to list something each day that they are thankful for and this is a great idea - but I challenge us to go deeper.  To have a thankfulness journal in the back of your prayer journal or even to have a seperate journal going to focus each day on thanksgiving.  It can be big things or small things - the items don't matter rather its our attitude of being thankful.  I encourage you to hold fast and to cling to the Lord.  He has promised us so much in His Word and we have been so blessed.

Psalm 100:4

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

My journal entry today:

• I'm thankful for the beautiful sunrise that I get to watch each day as I drive to work.
• I'm thankful for the girls I work with and the friendships we have together. 
• I'm thankful for my large McDonald's Diet Coke (in a styrofoam cup) - sometimes it's the small things:).

What are you thankful for today???