Only God Knows......

I am almost embarrassed to keep updating this blog with the in..out...in...out updates, but I guess since I started it I need to keep it going....

Last update, Gladine was set to go to the orphanage last Saturday, April 24th.  We got a call from the parents during last week asking if they could keep her for the Easter Holiday which of course was fine with us.  We then were set to pick her up, ("we" being Frank), on Monday.  Frank went up the hill Monday and waited for 1 1/2 hours and Gladine was never presented and ready to go.  Frank was very upset, and told them he would be back on Thursday and Gladine needed to be ready Thursday morning.  I asked him then if we should be concerned about all of this and he said no, he just felt the parents are incredibly inconsiderate and the concept of time or appointments means nothing to them.

So yesterday he goes up and Galdine was not to be found...after three hours he left.  He called us and advised us that if the parents were not able to simply have her bathed and ready to go to the orphanage, how can we expect them to go thru the process of the adoption, which involves some degree of effort from them.  His advice was to "move on".......

"Move on"......"Move on"........All I could picture in my mind was Gladine's sweet face and the time we had spent together two weeks ago.  I remember how enthusiastic her mom was, how her mom had sent her to me to be held, how her mom had referred to me as Gladine's "Pappa", how in my mind, I allowed this to become closer to a sure thing, a thought I had forced out of my mind until I left Haiti two weeks ago....and now we were being advised to "move on".......

Kim and I went out to eat last night and discussed the concept of "moving on".  While we both agreed it makes the most sense and is the right thing to do, we both know the picture of Gladine is going to haunt us for a while.  We also discussed that this is when you find out if "thy will be done"  really means, "thy will be done" or is it honestly closer to "Our will be done and and could thou please bless it"!!

If we are praying that above all else that God to lead this process, then we need to embrace that leadership and embrace this setback as a part of His plan.  We reminded ourselves that our Lord sees the past, present and future, and we would be foolish to question His vision.  We also realize it is not our job to understand, but to faithfully trust...and we do 100%.......

To make all of this a little more interesting, Frank called this morning and said Gladine's dad called him last night and said  he still wants Kim and I to adopt Gladine, that her not being there was not an indication of the parents changing their minds and, "no matter what", he will be sure she gets to the orphanage.  Frank and I discussed some very tall hurdles the parents would need to clear to get this back on track, for example, them bringing Gladine to Frank, not Frank going back to them.  Them signing the papers as almost the very first thing that happens, things like that.....

So, while we will be cautiously optimistic, we are also not going to be foolish and are going to consider Gladine as a "no", until the papers are signed and she is off the hill and in the orphanage.....

So, only God knows....and that is good enough for us.