Faith

This is a topic I have known that I wanted to write about for a long time.  It's also one that I've known I had to write about for a long time. It's also going to be one of the toughest ones to write because it's about a subject that's so sensitive and sometimes so very divisive.  In this outreach effort, we want to be all things to everybody.  But, of course, that's not actually who we are and in the end we have to stay true to who we are in order to get the best match possible.  Still, there are two things ingrained in my brain to never talk about in social settings:  politics and religion.

So, let's talk about religion.

Well, not religion necessarily, but God, and faith, and where we stand. 

I've made numerous entries in the past referring to God and prayer, etc.  So it's probably no secret by now that we are believers.  God is a part of this home.  Interestingly, the deeper we go into this adoption journey - and all the other journeys we're on at the same time - God becomes a bigger part of this house.  In so many ways, the fact that we're even here, that you're even reading this, that we're seeking to grow our family through adoption -- is because God made it so.  And so, as we continue to navigate this new territory in our lives, we're more aware than ever of His presence, and we're constantly seeking ways to make him a bigger part of our lives.

We do not currently attend a church.  This is something we would like to change, but we haven't found anything that fits just right yet.  We have a tremendous amount of faith, but we struggle with religion. I was raised Catholic and Todd was raised Congregational.  We were married in a Catholic church because having God involved in our marriage was important to us, but Catholicism isn't necessarily where we're going to land when we do finally find a fit.  And we would like to find a fit.  We would like to raise our children with exposure to God and faith and religion, and to allow them to be a part of a community that religion often provides.  I hear wonderful stories from friends and co-workers of how their church has provided that sense of community and support to others.  This is church at it's very very best and something I would love to be a part of.  The challenge is in finding something that aligns with all of our personal beliefs and works for both of us.  But we are seeking it, now.  We are seeking God and a home for our faith.  One that we fully intend to share with our children someday - with the hope that they will see the best of what it has to offer, and then make their own decisions on faith and God and religion someday. 

In the meantime, God keeps popping up in the most unlikely places.  A constant reminder, I suppose, that He is near, and he is taking care of us.  I bought a calendar yesterday.  It wasn't a religious calendar, it was just a calendar full of pretty flowers and pretty words and it was generic enough to work in our calendar spot (with lots of writing space on the individual days, which is nice).  When I opened the calendar to transfer all our yearly calendar information into it, the cardboard insert came out.  And it looked like this:

I can't tell you how timely those words are to us, and how much we needed to hear them (or see them) at this time in our lives.  So this what we believe -- God is near.  He is watching us.  He is running this show.  We are works in progress, and our family - as it grows - will likely always be that way.  And that's okay.  Along the way we'll seek out ways to grow closer to God, to live a life of love and peace.  And for now?  We're trying to let go of anxiety and fear and believe in this: