Have you ever read something hundreds of times and then… WHAM… a new truth leaps from the page? That happened for me the last time I read about Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, in Luke 1:5-7 (NIV). This truth jumped out at me in verse six:
…righteous in the sight of God… observing all… blamelessly”
Elizabeth was righteous and blameless, obedient and faithful, so why not give her the son she begged for? Why did she have to wait until she and her husband were not just old but “very old?” But if God had answered her prayers in the way and in the time she expected, would she have had the honor of being the mother to the forerunner of the Messiah? Would that honor have gone to another? Unbeknownst to her, their “wait” would bring untold blessings, leading to “the fullness of time.” (Gal. 4:4).
I too am in a place of waiting. I’m a missionary, which is a dream come true and a fulfilled calling. While I love my life, there is a sense that there is “something” or more specifically “someone” missing from it. I have longed to be a mother and thus far God’s answer to me has been … wait. In May this year I’ll celebrate my 45th birthday. While 45 might not qualify as very old, it is certainly older than most first-time mothers. So I have a real empathy for Elizabeth’s struggle and appreciate her persistence.
Here in Lesotho, the number of orphans is growing at a faster rate than in any other country in sub-Saharan Africa. In a recent case study done in 2013 by Management Sciences for Health, an MAF client, there are just over 1 million children less than 18 years of age and of these, 34% are orphans. If ever adoptive parents were needed – the time is NOW.
In 2014 a door opened, allowing single, ex-patriot women to adopt in Lesotho, provided the women come from Sweden, Holland, Canada or the USA. (Are there any coincidences in the plan of God? I think not.)
I believe God may yet be leading me toward motherhood. In fact, I believe there is a girl alive right now in an orphanage, who will one day call me “Mom” … and this realization fills me with joy! He already knows the Mosotho child that needs the love I can give, and so, I will wait patiently.
Will you pray with me as I wait on the Lord for the little girl He has for me?
