This is Not the Update I Wanted to Write

We have received some very disappointing news. Yesterday we received an email from our agency telling us that Timothy's region has suspended all American adoptions. They have done moratoriums before but this one appears to be indefinite. The email seems to hold out some possibility that the suspension could be lifted at some point but there is currently no indication as to when that might be. At the moment they are not accepting American dossiers, which is particularly bitter since we just submitted ours to the agency so recently.

This is very difficult news for us and so if you would join us in prayer, we would be so grateful. We are focusing our Lenten prayer and fasting in this direction:

-Pray for Timothy and the thousands of other children in his situation, for whom this decision has grave consequences.

-Pray that the decision would be changed and the suspension lifted soon. Not only does it appear to us to be an injustice, but as you may remember that typically when special needs children turn 4 they are transferred to an institutional setting in which they do not thrive and often die. Timothy just turned 3. He and many others can not afford to wait.

-Pray for the other parents who in the adoption process who are hearing this news. We know of some who have already met their child and are now finding themselves in limbo.

-Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we try to understand God's providence and seek his will in all of this.

There's a lot that we don't yet know about the situation, and so along with the punched-in-the-gut feeling we have a lot of questions for which we don't yet have answers. And yet we are seeking to place our trust in God's good and gracious sovereignty, for us but even more for Timothy.

Speaking of which, someone shared this quote with us, and we are reading it and believing it with lumps in our throats:

“Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”
― John Piper