In a few short days we will stand before a Russian judge who will decide whether we are suitable parents for a 7 year old boy. It's likely that this judge won't be impressed by what he sees in us - that we love Jesus, raise healthy children, and strive for normalcy. It's completely possible that the judge will look at all of our meticulously filled in paperwork and laugh in our faces.
I, however am not worried.
I'm not worried because this isn't about me. It's not about all the hard work I've put in to filling out the forms correctly, what kind of parent I'll be, or whether I have the financial resources to raise this child (which I don't, by the way.)
This is about a family who obeyed, even though they thought international adoption was a crazy idea.
This is about a little boy who was called my son before time began. A little boy who, I am certain, has been on a trajectory to be in my family since his mother left him 6 years ago. A little boy who has too many odd coinsedences for me to ignore. The way he looks, his personality, the way the names in his birth family tie to the names in our family. Only God could have arranged so many intricate details.
So as you pray for our family, don't pray that the Judge says yes. That's not really the point. We seek your prayers for courage. Courage to do something crazy for Jesus, without worrying what the consequences will be.
Thats what we're going for here.
We are not afraid of the worst case scenario (or at least we're trying not to be) because we know that we obeyed. And that's the point.
And just so you know, that little boy will always be my son, whether we get custody or not.