Lessons learned as an international social worker.

1. God’s timing. God’s plan will trump our own. Every time. What a relief that is; we can rest easy that there is nothing that will mess His plan up. He never said it would be easy; only that it would be worth it!

2. Hopefulness. God promises us hope for the future and he promises to execute justice for the fatherless. That truth can never leave us discouraged!

3. God’s love for his children. While you wonder about the welfare of your child while you wait for your opportunity to be with them, you can be assured that He loves your child with a love that passes our understanding. In the palm of His hand is the best place for your child; whether that means a longer separation or a shorter one, He is giving the ones He loves His very best.

4. Preparation. Every day is a gift! Every single day in between today and the day that your child enters your family is a day to prepare your heart, mind, and home for a great change. Pray for your family and yourself that the Lord uses this day to make you more ready; a better mother or father for the child that will soon enter your home. Teach yourself and others that will be involved with your child about adoption. Prepare them to be the best big brother, big sister, aunt, uncle, or grandparent that they can be to their new family member!

5. Trusting Him. Will you choose to worry and fret and live in anxiety? God does not wonder what will come of your family and your children. Trusting Him is a much more peaceful option.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than good and the body more important than clothes? Look at the bird of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Matthew 6:25-27

Claire Davis
International Social Worker