I'm going to do a sort of book review and look at each gift. Gift #1 is patience.
Some key points are:
"Patience means trusting there's no quick fix."
"What seems a NO...is often the essential prelude to a far greater YES." (Madeleine L'Engle)
"Don't let the time do you, you do the time" (a prison quote...waiting feels like a prison sometimes, doesn't it?)
"Waiting presents us with a choice: to fret in isolation or ...realize that we have the time to be available to others."
For my adoption related wait, I see those points from this view:
There's no point in second guessing our decision to go with the kind of adoption we chose. We can't move ourselves ahead in the "line", we just have to wait!
When we are told that our wait has been extended, it is not a "No", just a keep waiting. The child that will be placed in our family just isn't ready yet.
Don't let waiting be such a negative experience, find something good to do.
Especially in the adoption world, I don't wait alone. That's what inspired this blog...so many waiting families across the world. How can we be more available to each other?
My other favorite part of this chapter were 4 questions from psychologist Jack Kornfield:
How have I treated this difficulty so far?
What does this problem ask me to let go of?
What great lesson might it be able to teach me?
What is the gold, the value, hidden in this situation?
Good stuff! I'll leave you with those questions to ponder about your own wait.
Next chapter is on loss of control. My type A self does not like loss of control! Sounds like I need to keep reading!
2 comments:
Sounds like a book I need to start reading, too! Thanks for sharing. . .it does help to change your perspective. We were told our referral will likely happen sometime in mid-2009. I think I've actually come to a point where I am okay with that...for now ;)
Cindy
http://adopttaiwan.wordpress.com
I told you that it was an awesome awesome book. It really helped me while I was waiting for our son from Guatemala. I love the name of your blog and thought you would appreciate it as well.
I wish that as a society, we focused more on the process and the journey to our goals than on our achievements... Yes, achievements are wonderful but really, we spend more time in life on the journey to something...
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