We are currently at 810 pieces in the puzzle! Katie and I cannot thank everyone enough for supporting us spiritually, financially, and by sharing our story with others. We are in awe of how God is tangibly working and saying constant prayers of thanksgiving for each and every one of you.
Most things in life are a process. Losing weight. Mowing the lawn. Running a marathon. Getting a degree. Going from dating to marriage. Adopting a baby. It’s all a process, and as much as I’d like to flip a switch and be where I want to be, that is not how life works.
Things take time and effort. It’s easy to say “WE’RE ADOPTING!”, but there is so much more that goes into it. The paperwork. The government buildings. The fundraising. In short, the process. The fundraising piece has been the one that I have found the hardest to embrace.
When we announced the puzzle fundraiser, I set up an excel sheet to help keep track of the donations. I inserted a pie chart that automatically updated as we entered in the gifts. After the first day, we still had 93% of the way to go. The piece of the pie signaling how much we had left seemed insurmountable. I remember thinking, “Crap… God, how the heck is this going to play out?!”
Every day for a while, I would look to see our progress, just wanting it to be over. I wanted to have the puzzle completed so that way everything could be “done with.” It’s hard for me to not hate the process. The process is what stands between me and finally having everything figured out. I viewed it as an obstacle, not an avenue. Why does God make me wait and not just let me skip to the end? Why does He make me go through this? I get so consumed and caught up with how unfair it seems. I compare myself with others and how they seemingly have it so easy and simple. Then, when I’ve calmed down from my interior temper tantrum, I am able to see that all things are a process for everyone… even God.
When God created the world, He could have done it in a single instant. Creating the heavens, earth, animals, and people all at once. But, He didn’t. He humbled Himself into making it a process to be a model for us. Think about our salvation and Jesus’s Passion. God could have snapped His fingers and then salvation would be ours. But, again, He humbled Himself to a process. Becoming man. Having to learn to walk and talk. Growing up. Having to find, form, and journey with the men who would continue His mission after He left the earth. Day by day, being faithful to the process and slowly journeying towards Calvary.
Then, again, a process. Being betrayed. Sweating blood seeing the sins of humanity. Being imprisoned. Tried. Scourged. Humiliated. Carrying His Cross. Nailed. Hung.
God, in His Mercy, allows me to go through this questioning and process because it grows my heart for Baby M and for Him. If it happened overnight like I would want it to, then I wouldn’t appreciate the end gift of Baby M as much as I will having gone through the process. The hope that I have clung to wouldn’t be needed. I would stay the same. I wouldn’t change. My heart wouldn’t grow. That’s worse than any process I would ever have to go through. Out of love for me, God permits this process and just asks for my trust.
In this process, He has shown me His love tangibly through the overwhelming support we have gotten from all directions both near and far. Thank you to all those who have entered into this process with us. You are making a massive difference and helping us bring Baby M home!
-Joe
Once the puzzle is complete we will be considered an “active” couple and have the ability to present our profile book to expectant mothers! Please consider sharing our posts on social media about our puzzle fundraiser and by word of mouth with the people in your life.
“Let us not grow tired of prayers: confidence works miracles.” -St. Therese of Lisieux