Growing Together

Oh, I have written 73 blog posts since my last post. I have written them in my head, of course. I write as I rock a restless baby in the middle of the night. I giggle, drive and write while I recall all the delights of the day. I choke back tears and write as I drift off to sleep after an exhausting day of kneading out of the rough spots adoption parenting seems to expose. I look forward to sharing a couple of the very beautiful and holy things Jesus is teaching us along this path.

Older adoption is surprising. There is so much lost time and so many conversations to share. There is a lot of history to uncover. We have experienced grief for loss. It's loss of birthdays and holidays together. We feel sorrow over not being able to comfort them during thunder storms or illnesses. We didn't get to celebrate early achievements or many first experiences together. We have felt sadness in the reality that we were not "there" to meet so many needs. Many of the needs went unmet.

We feel very blessed that Mercy is so willing to share her past with us. She is pretty open. It's so amazing to experience such powerful moments as they creep into everyday situations.

Recently, we started out scrubbing toilets together and ended up sharing the truth of Jesus' great love. Mercy shared some really hard to hear realities about her caregivers over the years. She talked about the injustices that she and other children experienced at their hands. Heart breaking, gut wrenching, painful and real life for so many children in orphanages. 

Something strange happened. Tears started flowing in this Mama. I was overcome with compassion for the wrong-doers. I felt compelled to tell Mercy about my own sin and the tremendous forgiveness Jesus has shown me. I told Mercy all about Jesus and the Cross. He cleared the way for me to tell her that the only way all of these people will know TRUE love, kindness, integrity and selflessness is for them to know HIS love and forgiveness for each of them personally. We explained that we could pray for them to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Mercy listened intently. She asked if we could pray right then and there. So, yes, in the middle of the kitchen with work gloves and scrub brushes, we interceded for all the caregivers Mercy had known over the years.

We ended that day by cutting open and scooping out the seeds of a pumpkin together. We were able to share with our kiddos the story once again about becoming a light for Jesus. We talked about how He comes in and takes out all the yucky stuff. He puts His light in us so we can shine brightly in this dark world. Oh how that is our prayer.... Lord, may YOU be glorified in our marriage and family. Teach us to walk in YOUR ways. Lead us in YOUR paths.

 

Thank you to those of you praying for our family. Zoey will have eye surgery on Monday, Nov 18th. Drs. will remove cataracts and try to do a lens transplant. We are praying she would gain vision. Jacob will have testing under anesthesia on Thursday, Nov 21. Our calendar is covered with doctor appointments. We are trusting Him to be our strength and our endurance. We are trusting Him to help us juggle all the needs and honor Him with all of our lives.

 

With joy,

Art, Jen, & kiddos