Waiting for an Answer

It's funny how one answer can change the course of a life.

Monday morning Kory and I found ourselves waiting in a small brightly colored room. We were waiting for a doctor to answer one question.

A couple months ago we found a small lump on my thyroid. My doctor told me not to lose sleep over it. 90% of the time these nodules, which are very common, are non-cancerous. A biopsy was taken and found inconclusive. The next step was surgery to remove the lump. 

The surgery was completed last week and the wait for pathology results coupled with recovery began. A positive result (the lump being benign) meant life would go on as normal. A negative result would mean more surgery (to remove the entire thyroid) and (my biggest fear) would jeopardize our adoption process. China does not allow people who have had cancer to adopt unless they have been cancer-free for a certain number of years.

So, even with the odds very much in my favor, I spent my recovery week wavering between trust and worry, doubt and trust and in general trying to put the whole thing out of my mind via prayer and the BBC drama Lark Rise to Candleford. (Side note: I made it through season 1 and most of season 2 and in the process fell in love with the characters, found myself thinking in a British accent and calling my parents “mar” and “par.”)

I know "adoption” doesn't seem to fit in a “thyroid cancer scare” post, but this waiting week for me has been more about learning to trust that He called us to adopt little boy than it has been about my health. In a strange way, it has been one more confirmation that this step we took to adopt is the right one.

I’m sure you’ve guessed: there was no cancer.

In hindsight, the fear seems out of place.

Hindsight will do that for a person.

Walking out of the doctor’s office we both breathed a HUGE sigh of relief and then…

We plunged back in to everyday life, thankful for the privilege to do so.

“the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
his intentions can never be shaken.”

Psalm 33:11