Our First Thanksgiving

So many things to be thankful for this year...one big thing obvioulsy! I was reflecting on the last year, the last two years actually...that's when it all began! Two years ago in November the booming voice that woke me in the middle of the night urging me to "GO" forward with the adoption; a voice so clear and deep I started the following day. Two years ago we began the roller coaster known as the adoption process; ironically enough we met with our social worker at a Starbucks in Little Ethiopia to turn in one of our many applications.

Two years ago friendships were tested and true colors came out loud and clear in those we chose to help us along the way! So many ups and downs for 16 long months...and I know that 16 months doesn't seem like that long to some who have already been waiting longer! Two years ago at Christmas I remember crying at my computer because I already wanted my little boy to be in my arms...wondering how I would ever survive the wait! Last year, I thought I would lose my mind as we inched closer to a referral and dealt with the toughest decision of our lives.

It's funny how when you are in the middle of the something and you know there is a lesson to be learned, but you just can't figure out what it is until you are through it; when you reflect on it afterward it seems so clear... I learned something on Sunday night while watching, of all things, Evan Almighty.

When I pray for something, God will undoubtedly test my desire to really have it! In my case I prayed for patience, and instead of being given the calm and serenity that comes with peace, I was tested like never before to listen to my intuition, discuss with my husband and put my impatience aside; something I am not good at doing. But now, one year later, I look at my little boy, my darling little guy who has been mine before and all along; I know we made the right decision, and I learned that having patience, although perhaps not gratifying, is something I am thankful to know I have, and chose to exercise.

So this Thanksgiving I am thankful for being tested, I am thankful for being bent and almost broken during this most trying of adoption processes, because ultimately I have been rewarded with the ultimate gift...my family, my new friends, my being complete and perfectly content! I am happier than I have ever imagined possible!