"Finish the race"

On January 2, 2015, Steve and I were on course for what was shaping up to be a great year.  We had just dropped off our dossier paperwork in the mail and were heading to North Carolina for a family get-away.  Steve had been nominated, and all but guaranteed a promotion, we had pre-approval to build a new house, and we were anticipating a referral by late summer or early fall.  We would meet out daughter before Christmas, and everything was coming together for her expected homecoming in early 2016.

Within days, all of that crumbled as Steve’s position was canceled, which led us to cancel the contract for the house, and Haiti changed the number of applications they would accept.   The new trajectory of our journey is for our paperwork to begin being considered sometime this fall,  a nine-month or so wait for a referral (summer of 2016),, a two-week bonding trip shortly thereafter, and then several months of waiting before we return to Haiti to finally bring her home.  We now anticipate welcoming her to Ohio well into 2017.

The weight of that number hit me like a ton of bricks.  The boys were eight, six, and one when we took our first steps down the adoption road, and they will likely be thirteen, eleven, and six before they ever meet their sister.  It’s a long, long journey – especially for kids who have been fundraising with us, and telling their friends about this unknown sister of theirs for what feels like ages!  The realization that none of this was within our control and we would just have to wait it out was nothing less than painful.

February and March continued with a series of personal disappointments and frustrations, capped off with the loss of our beloved Aussie, and by April 1, we were hoping the spring would bring more than just warm temperatures; we needed new life breathed into our very souls.  

During this time, we have continued to hold onto our family’s theme  which came to me at the end of 20114.  I’m not generally a big New Year’s resolution maker, but for some reason, the words “finish the race” emblazoned themselves into my  mind and wouldn’t let go.  I decided it would be my personal theme for 2015.  At that point, we were saying the adoption journey was a marathon, not a sprint.  I was already dreading how hard it would be to have yet another Christmas without our little girl at home , especially as we expected to know her before then.  But we were determined to see it through.  

With the addition of an extra whole year to our wait time, we changed our thinking, saying this is no longer a marathon, it’s a triathlon!  It’s harder and longer than we expected, but we are no by no means giving up now!  We’ve come too far, and we are determined to see this thing through to the end.  We will finish the race!

With all of this in mind, we decided to launch a new fundraiser, one that combines many of the things we love into a visible reminder of our steadfast desire to be faithful to the call and finish what we’ve started.  What better way to remind yourself of a theme than to put it on a tee-shirt and wear it around?  And if a fundraiser tee-shirt is something you’re going to consider, who better to make it than the workers at Go Exchange?  The shirts could be sewn in Haiti by the very people I advocate for every day as an ambassador, and screen printed here in the States by our program seeking to train/mentor kids aging out of foster care.  It’s a perfect fit!

I contacted my cousin, who is way too talented to do such a simple project, and asked him if he would be willing to help me with a logo.  I was elated when he agreed to take it on, and am even more grateful  now, as I really had no idea what I was doing and he walked me through it.  I gave him the words I wanted to use and “complete artistic freedom,” which is code for “I haven’t actually seen a tshirt since 1989 and have no idea what’s in style.”  He gave a bunch of options; described them for me in detail, and ultimately came up with a design we absolutely love!

The awesome people at GoEx agreed not only to make my shirt, but offered to take care of all of the shipping and handling for me!  We have three weeks to share the link to it with as many people as we can, after which they will print the batch and send them out to their new homes anywhere and everywhere.  I could not be more grateful to them for this as it takes away my least favorite parts of fundraising – sorting, shipping, delivery, and demanding payments.  And, they broaden our fundraising potential to more than just our local area as the internet is everywhere!

We have no idea what to expect from this fundraiser, but I am more excited about it than most of the other things we have done.  At this point, we have regained our footing and no longer feel like everything is slipping and sliding out of control.  I can’t say that we love the waiting, or that it doesn’t bother us, but we are filled with hope  as we continue on.

My friends and I remind each other often that God never called anyone to do something easy.  In all of scripture, God demanded commitment, sacrifice, and  hard work.  Some of the things he asked his prophets and messengers to do were nothing short of insane.  And yet, they did them.  The trade-off of disobedience wasn’t worth it.  

“In this life you will have troubles.  Trust in God.  Trust also in me.”

These words have taken on new meaning for us in recent weeks as we have battled our share of troubles, but continue to trust (sometimes by choice alone) that the one who called us is faithful and will see us through to the end.

We are also strengthened as we realize that we are not the only family on a journey that is hard.  There are people all around us struggling with journeys of their own.  The God who walks with us, walks with them.  And He has been kind enough to bring some of them alongside us so that we can share one another’s burdens.

Maybe you’re one of them.  If nothing else, I hope this post encourages you to keep fighting the good fight, to finish the race and to keep the faith!  Keep training for that marathon!  Finish that degree.  Continue the drudgery of homework with that child who can’t wait for the  school year to end!  Stick to that diet and get rid of those last few pounds!  Practice that new skill until you get it right!  The end is in sight, better days are coming, you can do it!

And if you’d like to buy a shirt to remind you of it, please follow the link below and order by may 28!

http://goex.org/janelle-shelton-s-tee.html

“Give thanks to the Lord.  His love endures forever.”