Patience

I feel like a broken record when I take a deep breath in and say to myself to be patient.  Last few days feels like every breath in I am saying this! I feel it is important to blog not only about the good times, but the not so good times.  I have heard that adoption is not easy, but I am sure being a parent in general is not always easy.  We felt we were called to adopt Dima and will continue to follow what God directs us to do.  We understood that this would not be easy and feel that our marriage was able to handle the good and bad times.  I am so thankful for the bond my husband and I share as I couldn't imagine going through this without it.

We are extremely blessed to have adopted such a special boy.  He is smart, caring and so much fun to be around.  That is why we get so frustrated when we see a small part of him showing lack of respect and putting up a wall when things do not go his way.  This has been a constant battle for all of us and has been very stressful at times.  We are thankful for most of the days where this attitude does not come out.  We understand it could be a lot worse and are extremely thankful for this.  We pray that this attitude will happen less and less and for the time being God shows us the way and patience.

I can only imagine what is going through his mind.  After 14 years living in a certain environment where you only had your friends to support you and no parents to help guide you.  You always had to rely on only yourself.  I am sure it is hard for him now to allow us and others to help him.  He fights any help from others.  My only guess is that he may see it as a weakness, when we see it as a way to give someone help that has so much potential!  Ukrainians typically do not show their emotions and are very independent.  That is hard for us to understand and break down this wall around him that has been there for so long.

All we can do is pray for guidence and patience.  Thanks for reading.