I have a good friend who is a novelist.
Okay, she's not really a novelist. But, after reading her email to me, I kind of think she is.
I asked her to help me condense my current adoption story for a specific opportunity. She told me that I should start out with something really catchy like, "It was a dark and stormy night...." She said I need to grab the attention of the reader.
She grabbed my attention.
It's not every day that a friend will take your story and write it out, in her words.
She has given me free reign to use these words as my words, wherever I'd like to use them. For now, I'd like them all to be written here.
This is my story... written by my forever friend.
I
didn't want them to come. Not really. But not because of what you
think. I was afraid of the inevitable. I knew in the depths of my
innermost being that if they came, I'd fall in love. Head over heels,
down for the count, and beyond-the-point-of-no-return LOVE with
these orphans. And then my heart would break. They'd have to go back.
The children we'd poured our love, our time, our family into - would
have to fly back across that immense ocean to that foreign place they
called home. Latvia. And they would be taking with them pieces of my
broken heart. You see, my husband and I had already adopted twice
domestically. We have two gorgeous boys. And my husband had made it
clear that this "summer hosting program" was good, noble even, but it was temporary.
Five weeks and that's it. We'd show these kids a good time, then send
them on their way. Knowing my husband's wishes, I purposefully chose to
host two siblings who were "un-adoptable." It wouldn't do any good to
host orphans who needed a permanent home. I knew I had no choice
but to keep this "short-term." Still, I realized that once I had set
my heart - then my eyes - on these precious children...I would fall in
love and not ever want to let them go. That's why I didn't want them to
come. I didn't want to go through the pain of losing them.
Ah, but I underestimated my amazing Lord. He had something else in mind for my family.
When
we picked up our orphans from the airport in Houston, a strange thing
happened. By the time we had them in our vehicle and their little
voices were filling the silence with laughter, God had done a great work
in my husband's heart. Ray had fallen in love.
It
was a roller coaster ride of emotions. How could we possibly adopt
these unadoptable children? Well, God knew that in advance, and He has
already taken care of that little hiccup. Two children came to visit
for the summer, but their little sister was still in Latvia. How could we afford to adopt 3 children from across the globe?
Well, God continues to provide in that area. How can we adopt children
who don't speak a lick of English? Well, I can learn Latvian. And they
can learn English. God has answers to all of our questions. And His
Word calms our doubts, our anxieties, and our fears. We were not
expecting this in our lives. But God has always known. He's been
preparing us for this very moment. We're just normal people, and God is
giving us an amazing opportunity.
Not everyone is called to
adopt 3 Latvian orphans. But I am learning that everyone can do
something to help. And I am having to learn that it is okay to ask for
it!
Pray, give, whatever. Yada yada.That's my favorite part. "Pray, give, whatever. Yada yada." She might not like that I included that in this blog post but it DID make me smile the most and her name is not mentioned in this post. I'm even refraining from posting her picture here. If you know her, she doesn't take those words lightly. Praying and giving are two qualities in which any person who knows her would describe her. She is always praying and always giving.
Most of all, I love this truth: Head over heels, down for the count, and beyond-the-point-of-no-return love.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Romans 4:18
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