Part 10: The Wait

If you are just joining me in my How God Brought Us to Luke series, and thinking: Part ???? Please go to this page and start at the top. Trust me...it will all make more sense when you start there! If you don't mind jumping in in the middle...have at it!
What I didn't think was possible was happening.

Another family was reviewing Luke's file.

Kevin had a "well, that settles that" attitude about it all.

Peace did not come nearly as easily for me. Okay, it didn't come at all.

I was quick to remind Kevin that all wasn't settled until we knew he'd been adopted. After all, if this other family didn't adopt him, we were next in line to view his file. And, I was his self-proclaimed prayer mama.

So that's what I did. Prayed and prayed...for Luke and this other family. My chief prayer was that Luke would be in a family of believers. I prayed that the Lord would clearly direct this family irregardless of whether they were believers or not (He says He does this in Scripture...think Pharoah and Cyrus). I prayed He would block them from adopting him if he was our son and that if he was theirs...that they would know that they know that they know. I prayed that the Lord would prepare us either way.

A week went by. No news.

I called our agency. "Hi this is Mandy about Luke. Just wondering if you've heard anything from the other family yet?.....No, nothing? Could you let me know when they make a decision? Only if they say no? Okay...I'll just keep checking in then. Bye."

Back to praying...and fasting like I never have before.

After a total of 2.5 weeks of waiting, I was praying and suddenly it dawned on me that it had been...well, two and a half weeks! It was like the Lord was saying to me that the other family was riding the fence. They weren't sure. They didn't know that they know that they know that Luke was their son. Hmm.

I called our agency again. Same conversation...but this time she said she'd call and find out where they were in their decision-making.

The answer came in an email from our agency at 12:58pm on Tuesday, April 5th.

"Luke's file is now available."

Wow. I had sat down to eat lunch and check email...and there he was. His face smiling at me across a computer screen and 20 attachments that comprised his file.


Wow!

Luke's file had come to us!
Luke's file had come to us.
Luke's file had come to us?
Try every inflection of voice you can think of and that is what ran through my head.

And my heart? Tingly. Almost still. Shock mixed with excitement? I can't begin to describe the sensation that I have had these 2 times...first with Lily and now with Luke...when I look at the screen and see my child staring back at me.

Remember my fleece? Lord, please don't let Luke's file come to us unless he is our son.

Now I had it in my inbox!

My heart & head knew what this meant. And, so did Satan...the enemy of all things God.

The next 16 days would be unlike anything I've experienced before...

In Him,