I only waited 918 days for this
IT. FINALLY. HAPPENED.
As of April 9th, 2020 we officially adopted our son: Henry Thomas Rice!
We celebrate but not because we can call Henry our son. We celebrate because we no longer have to be told how to parent by the state. We no longer have to ask permission to cut his hair. We no longer have to get authorization to leave Indiana. We no longer have to tell our son ‘no’ when he asks to spend the night at a friends house…and the list goes on…
The moment Henry walked into our lives 2.5 years ago, my wife revealed to me that God told her he was going to be our son. That piece of information changed everything for us. We decided we didn't need the state to tell us he was our son before we treated him like one. I have always viewed Henry as my son, so this day was less of a thrill and more of a relief. More like a sigh with an eye roll towards God - it took you long enough!!!
It’s comical to even write those words but that’s how I felt. And as my wife and I have had time to reflect over the last couple of years, we learned one of the greatest yet toughest life lessons…the power of waiting well.
God said something to my wife and it took 2.5 years for the promise to come to fruition. In other words, it took exactly 918 days.
918 days! That’s so long and so short all at the same time. Long because we lived it. Short because I compare it to other people throughout Scripture who have had to wait. Specifically…
Eve - remember when she received a promise that the serpent would be crushed through her seed? That’s an exciting promise to receive…unless you never get to experience it because it wasn’t fulfilled until Mary gave birth to Jesus. That’s a long freaking time!
Noah - remember when God told this dude to build a boat because it was going to rain? Rain didn’t fall for another 120 years!
Abraham - remember when God told him he’d be a father of many nations? That wouldn’t happen for another 25 years!
David - remember when God told this teenager he was going to be king of Israel? He wasn’t crowned for another 15 years!
God tends to have a track record of making people wait. Many people want promises from God but I’ve noticed that many times these promises come with frustrating waiting seasons. I think it’s because God is more concerned with how you respond when you’re stuck in line. I think it’s because God is more concerned with what He wants to do in you before He does something great through you. The greatest lesson I've learned through this adoption process has been that the greatest promises often require the greatest patience.