Waiting. One simple word can have so many not-so-simple meanings. Yes, of course you can be ‘waiting’ in line at the check-out, or, you can be ‘waiting’ for the commercial to end during your favorite show. Such trivial times of waiting. But waiting nonetheless.
Then there are the bigger meanings of waiting. Waiting for a child to arrive, by birth or adoption. Waiting for a special holiday or vacation. Waiting for a cure. Waiting to see a loved one on earth, or in heaven. Waiting can be an inconsequential word, or a monumental one.
But what does the word mean to the children who wait? We often call them ‘Waiting Children,’ as they are waiting for a family. WE know what that means, just like we know what all the other examples above mean. WE know what the importance of family is for a child. WE know that their waiting is of the monumental definition. But so many of them have no idea what they are waiting for. Sure, they might have some fundamental understanding of what a Mom and Dad is, but they don’t truly know what family means until it happens for them. And even then, it’ll take time as part of a loving family before they fully understand what family means.
But just because they might not fully grasp what they are waiting for, does not negate the magnitude of their wait. It might even make it more monumental than some of our waits. Our waits can be challenging for us because we understand the magnitude of what we are waiting for. They do not know that for which they wait. But they wait just the same. Some wait forever, and never get to the other side of that wait. And for those children, my hearts aches. But for the ones waiting now. For the ones waiting today, and tomorrow, and the next day, I have hope. Hope for them, and hope with them, that their days/months/years of waiting will come to a joyous end. An end that will only be the beginning for them, and their forever family.
So trust in the wait sweet ones. Trust that what you are waiting for will be worth it.
At this moment, Madison Adoption Associates is advocating for hundreds of Waiting Children, with access to thousands more. These children wait, day in and day out, for their forever family. Every day you wait to make the call, is one more day they are forced to wait without a family. Make the call and start the process, so that their waiting can end. Call us at 302-475-8977, or email lindseyg@madisonadoption.org.
