Stahlke Adoption

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Yesterday was a difficult day, and as I got ready for bed, I turned to the introductory commentary on Philippians. The overview presented the characteristics of the letter, including four ways for a Christian to live. One of the ways is "lack of anxiety," which led me to the beautiful passage above. I needed it yesterday.

Kola's bed is ready. His clothes are folded and stacked in his own dresser. He is registered for kindergarten, and we have ordered his box of school supplies. The children have bought gifts for him, and they ask about him all the time. Jonathan and I have our own clothes ready for his court date in Ukraine. The dossier is complete and translated. Over three-fourths of the funds to pay for his adoption are sitting in an account at our church, thanks to the generosity of many, many people.

Two days ago, we read an Email that Darlene forwarded from Masha. Jonathan then telephoned Masha yesterday, which was our first direct contact with her since 2005 (we have been communicating through Darlene until now). She told us that Kola's paperwork has been forwarded to Kyiv and that he would soon be registered with the national adoption center. Jonathan asked her if that meant we would be traveling soon. She told us instead that Kola's registration meant that he was entering the 12-month waiting period for Ukrainian citizens to adopt him. As foreigners, we are not eligible to adopt him until August 2008.

There are many more details that she told us, which I will not write about now. Knowing the whole story, we are very thankful that she is our liasion and facilitator in Ukraine. Based on what she told us, we need to be glad that Kola's paperwork is in Kyiv.

I cried when I heard the news of a year-long delay, and I haven't even met Kola or seen his photo. And then we had to tell the children, who do know him and cared for him until he was a one-year-old. The children's reactions varied a great deal, and Jonathan and I will be watching them closely in the next days.
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My dreams at night are very vivid, and my counselor loves to hear about them since they show how I'm working out problems in my life. Last night I dreamed that a trombone soloist was playing the prelude at our church, which I was accompanying on my most familiar instrument, the piano. The trombonist and I had not been able to rehearse before the service, and he was standing on the other side of the church, out of sight. I had not been able to tell him he should stand close to the piano. In addition, he was someone who I knew well, but had not seen for a long time.

My music was spread out on the piano, but as we approached the end of the piece, I could no longer see the notes. I'm not sure why, but either the pages were out of order, or my glasses had stopped working. I was forced to listen carefully to the trombonist and improvise the chords as we went. It was very vivid--I can tell you the key of the piece and the chords I was playing. The trombone's music ebbed and flowed, from soft and haunting to a full climax of sound. It was incredibly beautiful, and the congregation went into the hushed silence that only happens once or twice a year in a church. I knew most of the chords, but occasionally when I tried one, it didn't work, and I'd have to try something else, all right in front of the congregation. Despite my mistakes, the music was gorgeous, I was thrilled with the beauty of it, and the piece was coming to a slow end . . .
The alarm clark suddenly rang, and I didn't get to hear the end of the piece.

That beautiful sound of the trombone is Kola, and we are getting closer to the end of our time to meet him. I'm working in the dark, improvising without music, and unable to see him, yet his sound is still close and very, very beautiful. "Do not be anxious," but "rejoice in the Lord always." Philippians 4:4a, 6a

posted by Stahlkes @ 8:16 AM