So the preapproval meeting that was supposed to happen the end of July did not happen. We still don't know when it will happen either. In the meantime, we have made much progress with our homestudy. We are one review and a few signatures away from it being done! It can be done in about a week. So exciting! This is a huge step in the adoption process, and getting it done means one step closer to bringing home our newest child. We're hoping that having our homestudy complete may be a benefit in adopting "Philip". We don't know if it will help us speed up the process or if we still need to wait for this meeting to happen when it will happen, but it definitely doesn't hurt to have it done quickly.
I mentioned before how I ended up learning quite a bit of things from the webinars we completed. One of the most unexpected things for me to learn is how scary it could be for our child to be adopted. We know it's a great thing to be able to grow up in a loving family, and we think about how awesome this could be for our new child. However, prospective adoptees don't necessarily know that families are great. They either don't know what a family is (having grown up in an orphanage) or have difficult associations with the idea of family (something went wrong, which is why they are no longer with their birth parents). Add in that we're white and they may not be, we speak English and they might not, and they've never met us before and we are taking them on a plane "home"... That could be very scary. It doesn't mean it's not worth it. It does mean there may not be the "warm and fuzzies" you hope or expect to have. Your child will have to learn to trust you/your family, and that will take time and energy.
I knew adoption was a loving act, but I realized I didn't fully think through why someone may need to be adopted. Every adoption starts with grief and loss of some sort. That's tough. It is encouraging that God can use our family to bring healing to a child. It just may not be smooth sailing (although, parenting never really is, is it?). "Philip" is still pretty young and he seems to be getting pretty good care as far as orphanages go, so it may be an easier and/or faster adjustment for him, but it's an adjustment nevertheless. And even when he's settled, he'll have questions and will need to continue to grapple with the fact that he's adopted. Our job is to help him through those questions and to let him know that he is loved and is with a "forever family" unconditionally. We will not give him away or reject him.
It's sobering in a sense, but also encouraging. May God use us in our children's lives in redeeming ways!
