I assumed a variety of reasons for having to wait a year to apply for adoption, but now that we’ve been here for three months I realize how necessary this letting time wash over us is. My optimism gets in the way of letting go and feeling the complexity of this season. Today I recalled a new year’s eve sermon from pbc – it was eye opening then. A punchline now.
I realized the tendency to rush through low seasons of life and worry through the high ones, anticipating the lows. See below John’s structure.
Seasons of the Soul
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV)
Ordinary Time
Season of Ordinary Light
• Marked by general contentment – things are going well
• Easier to recognize God’s favor/to feel blessed
• Also easier to coast, become lazy, and think we can handle life
• Great time for spiritual rest and gaining strength for challenges that will inevitably come our way
Reflection
• Reflect on the faithfulness of God
• Note things for which you are grateful
• Remember this season is from God
• Ask God for what you need to live fully, joyfully, with love and compassion?
• Express your heart to God in a praise psalm
Season of Ordinary Darkness
• Marked by being emotionally or spiritually “flat.”
• Not tied to any discernable circumstance
• Not deep darkness but feel bored and stagnant
• Long for prior times when God seemed so close
Reflection
• Remember that these times are normal
• Stay faithful; put one foot in front of the other
• Trust that the Spirit is at work
• Have a conversation with God about how you feel and ask him to reveal things that might be hidden or give understanding where you feel confused.
• Ask God to fill you with his freshness and vitality
Heightened Time
Season of Suffering and Lament
• All of us go through seasons of deep suffering – uninvited and unwanted
• Have feelings of disorientation, uncertainty, doubt, fear, anxiety
• We fall apart, become aware of our brokenness, and want to give up
• Usually lasts much longer than we would like
• Can be a season of transformation and inner journey with God
• We can resist the work of the Spirit by turning away from God
Reflection
• Use a lament psalm to give language for conversation with God Psalm 6; 13; 22; 35; 39; 42-43; 88; 102
• Allow yourself to feel your loss, grief, or sadness
• Notice any anger towards or distrust of God
• Take note of your sin and willfulness; confess it to God
• Turn from asking “why is this happening” to “where are you God in this for me”
• Let go of resisting, clutching and relying on yourself
• Ask God to allow you to let go, receive, wait, trust, be transformed
• Reflect on a past time of darkness and see how God was faithful
Season of Celebration
• Time of great joy, celebration, victory, living in the flow of the Spirit
Reflection
• Savor the experience
• Give thanks to God
• Express yourself in praise and worship – write a praise psalm
• Plan a memorial – gathering, pictures
• Do the dance of joy
Season of Wilderness or Transition
• Time of change – letting go and waiting for what is next
• Victor Turner called this season “liminal space,” meaning “threshold”
• We are betwixt and between; left one room, not yet entered the next
• Ending – can leave us with a sense of loss and grief; accepting the change
• Waiting – can be a time of disorientation; can experience confusion and despair but it is also a time of deepening dependence on God
• New beginnings – a reorientation of our life; not just external; takes courage to enter fully without looking behind us
• Very teachable and holy space
Reflection
• Stay put – don’t try and force it, analyze it, or figure it out
• Wait actively – listen to God and what he wants for your life at this time
• Talk to God about your fears, hopes, dreams, and questions
• Be aware daily of what is dying, what you are being invited to surrender
• Let go of controlling the outcome
• Invite trusted people to walk through the process with you
• Reflect on the journeys of Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joseph, Israel, Jonah, Paul
Acte necesare adoptiei
În conformitate cu prevederile Legii 273/ 2004, republicată cu completările și modificările ulterioare
1. Copie după buletinul/ cartea de identitate, permisul de ședere pe termen lung/ permisul de ședere permanentă sau după caz, cartea de rezidență permanentă
2. Declarație autentică, notarială pe proprie răspundere, cu privire la locuirea efectivă și continuă pe teritoriul României în ultimele 12 luni anterioare depunerii cererii de evaluare, neexistând absențe temporare care cumulat depășesc 3 luni
3. Copie legalizată după certificatul de naștere
4. Copie legalizată după certificatul de căsătorie/ hotărâre de divorț, daca este cazul
5. Copie după titlul de proprietate sau alt document care să ateste dreptul de folosință asupra locuinței
6. Certificat de cazier judiciar
7. Adeverințe de venit sau alte documente care atestă veniturile solicitantului/ solicitanților
8. Certificat/ adeverință medicală eliberată de medicul de familie privind starea de sănătate și eventualele boli cronice, însoțită de rezultatul evaluării psihiatrice
9. Minimum două caracterizări de la ultimul loc de muncă pentru fiecare solicitant
10. Declarația soțului care nu se asociază la cererea de adopție cu indicarea expresă a motivelor neasocierii
11. Declarație autentică, notarială pe proprie răspundere din care să rezulte că solicitantul/ solicitanții nu sunt decăzuți din drepturile părintești precum și referitor la faptul că nu au copil/ copii în sistemul de protecție specială
12. Certificat de cazier judiciar al persoanelor cu care locuiește solicitantul
13. Certificat/ adeverință medicală eliberată de medicul de familie privind starea de sănătate a celorlalte persoane cu care locuiește solicitantul, cu menționarea eventualelor boli cronice, însoțită de rezultatul evaluării psihiatrice
14. Declarație privind motivația de a adopta și așteptările persoanei/ familiei în legătură cu vârsta, sexul și situația psihosociomedicală a copilului pe care doresc să-l adopte
15. Un dosar cu șină
16. O poză recentă a familiei