Rarely Early, Never Late

My father is physiologically unable to be late. Punctuality is part of his makeup. Birds fly, fish swim, my father arrives on time early to every event. Growing up, I thought sitting quietly in the church pew for 15 minutes before anyone else (even the pastor) arrived was part of the service designed exclusively for us.

I absorbed this "five minutes early is ten minutes late" mentality into my very core. I was the freshman and sophomore college student who showed up to a 10:00 am class at 9:45, while everyone else who had a life rolled in...later. Working three jobs while also parenting a free-spirit have done their best to grind this trait out of me, or at least reduce that I-need-to-be-there-15-minutes-early mentality to a two-minutes-early-is-still-on-time mentality, but I still get anxious if I'm running late. Being late just feels rude and irresponsible - like I don't care enough about the person I'm meeting or the event I'm attending to plan ahead a little bit, stop what I'm doing, and get out the door. But that's just me.

During this adoption process, we've heard about and thought about God's timing A LOT. A lot a lot. It's meant to be encouraging when I'm feeling frustrated with what seems like an interminable wait and a well-meaning friend says something along the lines of "God's timing is perfect". (It's meant to be encouraging, dear friends, but it still sometimes make us waiting parents want to claw your lips off. No offense, really. It's just that waiting parents tend to get a little ... um ... emotionally unbalanced. Consider yourself warned.) Waiting is hard, hard, hard, especially when you have pictures of a mischievous-eyed little munchkin on your phone, refrigerator, office wall and you know that precious soul is going to sleep again tonight without a daddy's tickles or a mommy's kisses or a big sister's bedtime story. HARD.

So while I KNEW, deep down, that God's timing IS perfect, it is really difficult to understand what EXACTLY IT IS HE IS WAITING ON while deep in the midst of the wait.

But NOW, now that I'm on the other side (sort of) of the wait! Oh, wow!

Cool God-thing #1: On Tuesday and Wednesday March 27 & 28, Nancy, a missionary from Lesotho, visited Christian Academy School System, and talked to the elementary students about her family, God's love for orphans (orphans ARE part of a family - God's family), and about Lesotho. She also taught us some important Sesotho phrases like, "Don't do that," "Gentle" and "Play ball!" Shortly after Nancy left the school for her mission organization's headquarters (which just HAPPENED to be in Louisville) we got the email that we were APPROVED!

Cool God-thing #2: Nancy's husband and daughter (who, along with the entire clan are on furlough in the states) just HAPPEN to be flying from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg on May 4th and are then heading to Maseru, Lesotho. They have offered to meet us at the Jo'burg airport, take us to Maseru, show us the lay of the land, and help us get settled. SERIOUSLY? We don't have to navigate Jo'burg by ourselves the first go-round? Thank you, God!

Cool God-thing #3: Arriving in Maseru on May 5 will allow us to spend the required two weeks in country with Pacman, then leave Lesotho just days before their elections on May 26.

Cool God-thing #4: After the two weeks in Lesotho and the necessary paperwork processing in Johannesburg, we'll return home to the States in time for ... SUMMER BREAK! I'll have two months home with Pacman AND with Sam.

Cool God-thing #5: I thought initially that this timing would really stink for Sam's schooling (she'll miss the last two weeks of classwork plus 8th grade Crossover). But the school has been AMAZING! Each of the teachers is working with Sam so she can finish her academic requirements before we travel or while in-country without undo stress. Can I just say again that I LOVE Christian Academy. This timing also allows her to go on the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip with all her friends. (She WILL miss Crossover, but those rights-of-passage just make me cry. (As does shopping for the exact perfect dress for said event.))

SO...with all those cool perfect-timing-God-things whapping me in the face, WE BOUGHT AIRLINE TICKETS! TO JOHANNESBURG! Leaving May 3rd, arriving May 4th!

Now, there are a few little loose ends God still needs to tie up. Those being:

#1: COURT. No we haven't...ahem...passed Court yet. And that is kind of really a big deal. You see, Court is currently on Easter recess, set to resume next week. The lawyer doesn't anticipate any difficulties, but PLEASE PRAY that he gets the court order to the social worker by April 23. (After court we'll be allowed to post Pacman's real name, which, by the way, means "the place to ride horses" for those of you who speak Sesotho.)

#2: PAPERWORK. The social worker needs the court order to be able to process Pacman's new birth certificate (Pacman Thompson - doesn't that have an awesome ring to it!) and his passport. Those two documents are kind of really important for us to be able to process Pacman's immigration paperwork with the US Embassy.

Cautious me wanted to wait on purchasing those airline tickets until items #1 and #2 were finalized and in-the-bag. Seems wise, no? But with the connection with the missionaries and their dates and the way those dates lined up with elections, we REALLY felt like God was telling us to buy the tickets, go to Africa, He had it all under control thank you very much. So, back to you, God. Continue to amaze us.

Along the lines of God continuing to amaze, please pray for my friend Cathy Nagy, in Ghana, who needs court approval on Wednesday, April 18th, her son's passport processed in two days (by Friday, April 20th) and US Embassy paperwork approval so they can all fly home on April 25th! God is so amazing, and I believe He's going to check those dates off just exactly on time. He's rarely early, but He's never late.