Ever have a hang nail? You know, that little bit of nail and skin that gets caught on EVERYTHING. They aren’t anything big or excruciating, but by golly they are frustrating and annoyingly painful. You know if you cut it away or stop picking it will eventually go away.

Our adoption path has been one that has been wrought with waiting, decisions, and right now a lack of direction. We’ve gotten used to this and in certain aspects are completely okay with it, but it’s funny how the trials of this process start to leak into other aspects of our lives. For example, a few weeks ago Eli and I had a really tough day regarding where to go next in our pursuit to adopt a child or children. We had received some pretty harsh news and just weren’t sure where to go next. We were both really upset, but oddly enough, quite calm. We decided it might be nice to go out to a nice dinner, process what we had just heard, and start to figure out where we wanted to go next. Eli was great the entire ride to the restaurant. He really has a way of comforting me and letting me know that everything will be okay. He noticed on the ride that his cell phone was almost dead and asked me to plug it into the charger. His phone has been having issues charging lately and this time was no different, and guess what? As calm as Eli had been over a topic that is life changing, he was not calm at all about his cell phone not charging. He was REALLY upset, and I’m pretty sure that cell phone would have ended up out the window, but Eli does not like to litter or spend money he doesn’t have to. It took everything in me to not start laughing.

See this experience has had a way of amplifying little things that normally wouldn’t bother us, but at the very same time, also helping us recognize that it’s important not to sweat the small stuff. Complicated, right? We think so too. We feel so fortunate in so many ways. We have an incredible relationship and are each other’s very best friend. We have our health, strong faith, a warm home, plenty of food, and great friends and family. Things could always be worse and we really, truly understand that. But at the very same time, some of life’s little blows are a little more difficult to handle—a cell phone that won’t charge (I don’t think I would have lost it over that, ha!), a comment that strikes a chord, or just a task that feels a lot harder than it should. Everything in our life lately seems to be intensified, like looking at the world through a magnifying glass—something that is quite simple can suddenly look quite complex. This can be perceived as somewhat of a nuisance or as an amazing gift of altering our perspectives.

~Chelsea