spoiled rotten

I have a house full of cool gadgets like ceiling fans, computer, microwave, washing machine and dryer:
Delights my three little monkeys oohed, aaahed, touched, and exclaimed over:
Equipment I take for granted.

I live in a country where I can easily apply for a passport.
It doesn't take several months salary, or a bribe, or trips to the country's capitol.
And yet travel isn't exactly easy for us.

If I needed to work, I would have several options before me: retail, fast food, design, administrative assistant, housekeeping, childcare, and the list goes on.
Our "little girl" is cleaning houses. Not a job she hoped for, not a job she chose, not a job for which anyone ever trained her. But I am thankful she has one, and pray that she has a warm, dry and safe place to put her head each night. So many orphans don't.

Lord, forgive me. I have been given so stinkin' much, both in material possessions and in opportunities, and yet I am so guilty of taking them for granted. You gave us 24 draining yet precious weeks of being parents, and yet as the time passes without a word I easily forget to pray and deliver them to the one who not only sees where they are but knows their hearts.

Belarus information for 2010: All presents were delivered. Mikalai is taller. Tatsiana is cleaning houses for a living. Aleh's present was delivered personally by an American. No agreement between Belarus and the US has been signed, though relations have improved, so Mikalai is again not eligible to come visit. And unless we get a letter from Tatsiana, that's probably all we'll hear until this time next year.

Waiting is so simple, but so hard to do.