God's Perfect Timing

I am so full of emotions right now! You might say my emotional cup runneth over! or "overwhelmed" might be a good way to put it!

In my previous post...Packing....I was thinking of God's timing and how sometimes you get it right away, sometimes you wait, and then there are times when you just have to trust without ever knowing. Today I am overwhelmed with awe by His timing. We thought we would be in Ethiopia right now, hugging and kissing on our sweet Desalee. Ready to bring her home! But that didn't happen. It was disappointing, at best. We did make a trip, however,to Texas to be with our family there and spend precious time with Grandpa Jack. It was a wonderful trip and exactly the right thing to do! Although Jack was weak and a bit "in-and-out" of it, when he was "in" he was the same Jack who was a practical joker and a truly loving person! I was thrilled! He was joking and playing with the kids....he even tried to get me with his "dog jaw" joke, but I caught him! We left with precious memories and a real chance to tell him we love him and say goodbye.

We drove home knowing that God's timing was better than our own. But not realizing how perfect it was. We almost waited an extra week to go to Texas, but at the last minute decided to go ahead and go. We got back to Indy on Sunday night and over the next few days received word that Jack's condition was worsening. And then last night we were pretty surprised to find out that he had already gone to be with Jesus. It's sooner than we expected. But it is a relief to know that when we died he was in the comfort of his home with Delores and that now we know for sure that there is no more pain, no more cancer, just relief and joy in the presence of our Saviour!

My Granda Whitten died suddenly 9 years ago and I didn't have the chance to say goodbye. I don't know what my last words to her were...I hope it was a "love you!" on a casual phone call...I don't know. I am so grateful to know that my last moment with Jack was a big hug and an "I love you!" He told me that the next time he saw us we'd have Desalee with us. I know he will watch down from Heaven as we take her in our arms for the first time. He can be there with us for that!

Today our social worker called to tell us that we have been invited to travel to Addis next week to get our baby girl. We are so excited! It's a roller coaster of emotion over here....grieving one moment, celebration and anticipation the next! We leave on Wednesday the 28th and return home on Friday, August 6th. Finally united with our little girl!

I'll never stop wondering at God's timing...the events of the past couple weeks remind me that all I need to do is trust that His timing is absolutely perfect....impeccable, really!

Goodbye, Grandpa Jack. I love you like you were my own grandpa. I'll always remember your jokes and the loving person you were. Ill also never play progressive rummy without pile driving a wild 2 and thinking of you! Love you! Miss you! See you on the other side!