Generally speaking, with the "traditional" arrival of a child, you know you have 9-1/2 months, give or take. Thus, you have an approximate due date that you can fix you attention upon and plan toward.

With adoption, there are no due dates – you don’t know if there will even be a date.

Thus it is at Casa Stro today. We went shopping for the last few items needed to complete the children’s rooms. We wanted to finish up the rooms so we could photograph them for the scrapbook suggested by our social worker to acclimate the kids to life with us.

We’re working steadily toward something nebulous and somewhat surreal; all the while keeping in the back of our minds the little nay-saying voice that whispers, "What if they never come? What will you do with all this stuff then?" That little voice rarely gets to see the cool light of day because we know, as with anything, this adoption is completely up to the will of God. So you keep pushing onward, as though it were a "done deal," full of the assurance "that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love [Him], to those who are called according to His purpose". (Romans 8:28 ).

At times when it seems the day will never come, I reflect on how so much has already been done; and the blessing of time to complete that which is yet to be done. I’ve finished knitting the dress I hope my new daughter will want to wear to court the day we finalize the adoption. I am ¾ of the way done with the sweater for her brother (we are adopting sibs). I hope to have time to complete a matching sweater for their very excited big brother. This is where having a due date would come in ever so handy!

I have subconsciously been putting off some of the knitting, however. Knitting is such an intimate act for me. I pore over yarns, picking just the right yarn, color, and pattern. I pray for, and think of, the person as I am knitting it for them. Sometimes, as with the phone calls mentioned yesterday, it’s hard to carry on with the knitting, because my thoughts are so centered on the children, it hurts. But then, I think about trying to finish 1-1/4 sweaters on a five hour plane trip, and reason comes rushing back to me!

Yes, the waiting is hard … but the reward keeps me going!