Patience

Quote for the Day:

"Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not waiting passively until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand." --

Henri J.M. Nouwen


Adoption is all about having patience. With the uncertainty of the wait times the months and days sometimes drag on. However, sometimes they also go by very quickly. During the paperchase phase of adoption there is always a document that you are waiting for. It's easy during this process to get caught up in being stressed over when things might happen. It's easy to be overly concerned over things we have no ability to control.

But life is full of waiting times and with them opportunities to perfect our patience. I once heard a preacher say that we are always waiting for something. Then as soon as we get what we are waiting for, we begin waiting for something else. What matters is not when we receive what we are looking forward to, its what we learn and the attitudes we have during the journey.

The following is a great piece on patience and adoption. Enjoy.

http://www.redthreadkids.org/patience.htm