A Surprise Update: When God Takes Over a Blog

For those who have adopted internationally and understand the dynamics that go with this next stage of waiting, you will understand what it means to receive a small update on your little one.  Right after Thanksgiving week, our agency shared that we would get one more update and that we had the opportunity to submit just a very few questions and our daughter's orphanage may or may not choose to answer all of them. We didn't have a choice on the timing of when we wanted to request the update, so we submitted a few requests and they were sent off to China.  As we've noted before, she is in a care center that is housed in another part of the orphanage building and it is run by a wonderful non-profit that has a doctor and at least one nurse on site, so we are thankful to know that they are monitoring her and taking great care of her.  However, there are so many things we'd love to be able to ask, so many unanswered questions that we will likely never know and still may not find out even when we travel to pick her up. These are the questions that can keep one up at night. 

Though we were excited to know we would get another little snapshot into her current daily life at her orphanage in China, we also knew this may likely be the last information we'll have on her until we head to China. 

Wow. That thought is hard to step back and process if we let it sink in.  So many questions left unanswered.

"What size will she be when we pick her up?"

"What size shoe does she wear?"

"What comforts her when she is upset?"

"What does she like to eat and does she still take a bottle?"

"How much has she grown since our last information on October 29th?"

"How are her medical needs right now?" 

"Did her birthparent(s) know that she had a medical need?"

"Is her condition better / worse?"

"How well does she sleep at night- what makes her comfortable?"

"Who named her and why did they give her that name?"

...And this barely scratches the surface of the list of questions adoptive families begin to wonder about.

While we were waiting on our update, on December 1st, I happened to be online and looking at a blog that I often follow. Within seconds, my eyes caught a name and an all too familiar face staring back at me-- it was our little one! She had been chosen as the prayer focus child for December and though technically, it wasn't supposed to have been posted based on the timing of our paperwork and the status of our adoption process, I believe God allowed that to happen to allow even more prayers to go up for her during December as we certainly know many follow this blog and help advocate for children with medical needs or in need of a forever family. ( As a matter of confidentiality, we are not naming the organization)

Regardless of the situation, we were beyond thrilled to learn more about her:

• She was admitted into the care center the very day she was received into her orphanage
• Upon intake, she was very small and underweight due to her medical condition (which we could also tell based on her file when we received it)
• A year later, they said she was hardly recognizable as the same child- they say she appears to be a healthy and thriving little girl
• She is learning how to walk and is curious about her surroundings
• She loves to snuggle with her nanny
• Her nanny says she is a well-behaved baby 
• They are still assessing the possibility of a surgery being needed, but based on our timeline for tentative travel, this should not be necessary while she is in China as long as she continues to stay healthy 

We are so blessed by this "extra" update that we received while waiting on our "official" one from our agency. I think someone we know said it quite well. It is these moments that are the little "God-moments"... those little "God-winks" that just affirm that He is in the middle of each and every detail of her life, orchestrating every moment and reassuring us that He has her in the palm of His hand- even if she is on the other side of the world.