ADOPTION COULD WELL BE DEFINED AS A LIFE CHANGING PROCESS THAT SO SHAKES YOUR WORLD, NOTHING -INCLUDING YOURSELF- IS RECOGNIZABLE AT THE END OF IT. The AWESOME BEAUTY of it is that it grows not only your family, but your heart, your joy, and your dreams. It is lovely, frustrating, beautiful, heart wrenching, awesome and miraculous.
A couple of years ago, it was still one of those "someday" deals for us. We never imagined we'd hop a plane with three kids (ages 1, 6, and 8) and head to Ukra'ne to meet a child and ask him to accept us as his family. I never imagined I would sit in a tiny office listening to people chatter away in a language I couldn't make heads or tails of (after months of studying, no less!) and try to hold my hands still because I was trembling with fear that he would not want us. I never imagined the joy that flooded my heart when he nodded "yes" -- which was nothing compared to the joy I felt the first time he called me "Mommy" or said "I love you."
And here we are, mid-process on adoption number 2. I look at the family picture above and I think that it's lovely (after all, I'm kind of partial to the folks in it), but I see how incomplete it is. Can't you see the child that is supposed to be peeking out from between Mommy's and Daddy's shoulders, or leaning on Big Brother, or propped on Sissy? I can. And it makes me yearn. I have no idea how many children God will allow us to add to our family, but I can't wait to find out! Each one is loved and treasured, and each one is unique.
But back to when adoption was a "someday" deal for us. How did that change? It changed when I met an orphan from the country we ended up going to. My heart became so full and so empty all at once. I longed to be her mother. I'm not, but God knew that. Just as He knew it would take loving her to get my head out of "someday" and into "now." I'm so thankful I met her; that sweet girl changed our lives and the lives of other children who will have families because of her sweet eyes and spirit. David Platt says that once you look into the eyes of an orphan and once you know their names, you can't stay uninvolved. He is so right!
And here we are, with God messing me up again. Last adoption we pursued an older child because they are less likely to be adopted. This time, it's a child with special needs. I started out being open to one girl -- a little ray of sunshine in a dark corner of the world. And then I began to pray for other faces and names and those who were unknown. And my heart stretched. Again. I started out being open to one tiny, easy to handle "disability" and became open to a plethora.
Adoption changes lives. And it starts with the one pursuing it.
A couple of years ago, it was still one of those "someday" deals for us. We never imagined we'd hop a plane with three kids (ages 1, 6, and 8) and head to Ukra'ne to meet a child and ask him to accept us as his family. I never imagined I would sit in a tiny office listening to people chatter away in a language I couldn't make heads or tails of (after months of studying, no less!) and try to hold my hands still because I was trembling with fear that he would not want us. I never imagined the joy that flooded my heart when he nodded "yes" -- which was nothing compared to the joy I felt the first time he called me "Mommy" or said "I love you."
And here we are, mid-process on adoption number 2. I look at the family picture above and I think that it's lovely (after all, I'm kind of partial to the folks in it), but I see how incomplete it is. Can't you see the child that is supposed to be peeking out from between Mommy's and Daddy's shoulders, or leaning on Big Brother, or propped on Sissy? I can. And it makes me yearn. I have no idea how many children God will allow us to add to our family, but I can't wait to find out! Each one is loved and treasured, and each one is unique.
But back to when adoption was a "someday" deal for us. How did that change? It changed when I met an orphan from the country we ended up going to. My heart became so full and so empty all at once. I longed to be her mother. I'm not, but God knew that. Just as He knew it would take loving her to get my head out of "someday" and into "now." I'm so thankful I met her; that sweet girl changed our lives and the lives of other children who will have families because of her sweet eyes and spirit. David Platt says that once you look into the eyes of an orphan and once you know their names, you can't stay uninvolved. He is so right!
And here we are, with God messing me up again. Last adoption we pursued an older child because they are less likely to be adopted. This time, it's a child with special needs. I started out being open to one girl -- a little ray of sunshine in a dark corner of the world. And then I began to pray for other faces and names and those who were unknown. And my heart stretched. Again. I started out being open to one tiny, easy to handle "disability" and became open to a plethora.
Adoption changes lives. And it starts with the one pursuing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment