A friend of mine got a pressure cooker a few of weeks ago. She loves it so much, and the first week or so that she had it she used it EVERYDAY and would post pictures of everything she had made and it all looked amazing. Apparently enough people were interested in her "pressure cooking" and asked her enough questions about it that she decided to make a Facebook group where people could ask questions or talk about their pressure cooking experiences. As many know, I love to cook and am always looking for an easier way to make things, so naturally I asked her questions about her new found cooking style which in turn she added me to her Facebook group.
However, this is not a blog about my cooking endeavors, this is the story of my journey bringing home my daughter. Ever since I was added to that group and learned more about the world of pressure cooking (all I know is what I learned from my host family when I lived in France as they used theirs a few times a week). I have gotten to think more and more about how this journey I am on is a lot like a pressure cooker.
We started out loose and happy and ready to "do God's will" no matter the cost. Then slow downs happened and the pressure started building and building and soon we didn't understand why God had called us on this VERY difficult path. We got to a point that we felt that we couldn't handle the pressure and God relieved it a little bit by bringing significant movement and then after more pressure build up, by matching us with our daughter. Since then EVERY step has been life in a pressure cooker. We sit at a stand still for months and months with the pressure building around us. Then some small change or progress comes to relieve the pressure for a time. Then we sit and wait again and then another bit of progress happens and the pressure is let out again.
This happens over and over many many times!
How much pressure can we handle?
When will God decide that we are done "cooking" and turn the switch to "quick release" and allow all of the pressure to come flooding out. I have faith that God can do that. I know that he can work miracles. He just doesn't seem to want to. I search my brain for a reason, I dwell on what I can learn and improve in my life during this time, to occupy me and to prepare me to be a better parent, more equipped to parent a child from a hard place. I also spend time just dwelling in God and thinking "Maybe I just need to sit, and be quiet and trust...Be still and know that I am God" is what he calls us to do. I have actually been able to do that some. Yet, still the pressure and the pain keeps building up. I have faith that it will be released as soon as I don't think I can handle it anymore. But apparently God thinks/knows I can handle more than I think I can handle or would like to handle.
Really I just want my girl home! I want all of the paperwork process to just speed up and I want to fly through the whole rest of the process. I want to have no more delays and SOMETHING in this crazy annoying part of the journey to go in our favor. People have passed us up by months in this process and we still just sit and wait while the pressure builds and builds and we wonder if we will ever bring our girl home. Will she be home by next school year? Will she be here by her 5th birthday or Christmas? I don't know. Only God knows.
