The Day We Met...

Last May 27, 2013 on the day that we first met.

This May 2014 hiking at Cunningham Falls.
If I had a nickel for every time I cried throughout our adoption journey/post adoption, I would be rich.  At the start of our journey, there were days when I didn't think I would ever stop crying due to brokenness inside of me.  In the middle of the journey the tears came when I felt as though God had forgotten us or there just seemed to be permeating hopelessness in our situation.  There were days when I was so frustrated with the paperwork, the system, or the process itself that tears were the only expression I had.  There were days when I would think about the number of children around the world who were living without families to love on them, ours included, and tears that came from the deepest kind of sadness would pour out of my soul.
Then we got our referral and it brought a new set of tears.  There were tears of happiness that God had answered our prayers.  There were tears of longing, knowing that it would still be months before we would meet our son.  There were tears of the deepest kind of joy that I am not even sure I have ever felt in my life before that came from knowing God's plan was about to unfold right in front of our eyes...and it was good!

Since bringing home Biruk, tears still seem to be my mantra.  Most days, they are just out of the absolute astonishment I have with the way God has woven his faithfulness throughout our life.  This morning was one of those days.  Last year on this very day, May 27, 2013, we met Biruk for the very first time.  I remember the day like it was yesterday and can't believe that it has already been a whole year since our first trip to Ethiopia, a trip that began a chapter of our life that we couldn't have imagined on our own.  My journal entry from that day pretty much sums it up...

May 27, 2013
Today will go down in my books as one of the best days of my life.  We met our son for the first time and it was everything I had imagined it to be plus so much more!  When we got to the orphanage, we were greeted by a handful of kids, several who had special needs.  Then they showed us the baby room and there was a nanny feeding Biruk.  We bent down and touched his little feet.  After a few minutes she gave him to me to feed him.  He practically melted in my arms!  There was a little boy with Downs Syndrome who stood by our side the whole time.  He kept hugging us, which made the whole thing even more special.  Eventually we got into a car...with Biruk...and headed down to the orphanage office where we got to be with him for a couple of hours.  It was amazing!  He fell asleep several times in our arms.  We played with him, fed him, got him to laugh.  It was an amazing time.  He has these chocolate brown eyes and big brown legs!  He is so cute!  He didn't cry once and it felt like he was already a big part of us.  When we left, the nanny pretty much took him out of my arms and placed him in his crib with another little girl.  Talk about heart breaking.  I didn't know how fast I could fall in love with a little child, but it happened...and it happened quick!  I am praying the embassy date comes so soon.  He is our little blessing....a total gift.  Today made the journey worthwhile.

 Today, I cried tears of joy...again...because God continues to remind us of his faithfulness every time we hold the little boy who changed our life a year ago today.  Thanks be to God!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 29, 2014 at 3:12 PM

    YOUR journey became OUR journey way before Biruk was even conceived. God always knew your prayers and what a wonderful life Biruk would soon have with you as parents and growing up with your entire family of believers. God has big plans for that little guy!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Donut Story

Image
When I was about five years into being a Youth Pastor, I met a group of kids that changed my life.  Many of you reading this, who know me personally, have probably heard me talk about them numerous times.  Nate and I happened to live in the parsonage next door to the church I was serving at at the time, and would routinely come home to a group of boys that I would have described then as "rough around the edges."   They dressed mostly in black, had long hair, and sometimes even had black painted fingernails.  They loved to smoke, and they loved to skateboard.  After a few days of watching them through our window, Nate and I went outside and brought them some sodas.  We introduced ourselves, told them I was the Youth Pastor at the church, and invited them to come to youth group.  While they politely declined our invitation, we continued to invite them over and over again, attempted to skate with them, and fill them with snacks.  Until one day, ...
Read more

A Mother's Heart...

Image
It was the night before we were ready to leave for Ethiopia that it dawned on me. We hadn’t given the necklace to Biruk yet. When we had exchanged necklaces with his birth mom ten years prior at the orphanage, we had no idea when we would give it to him. We just knew that we wanted him to be old enough to appreciate it, as it would be the only thing he would have from her. We had no idea if we would ever see her again.  There have been several moments in our journey where I’ve had to pinch myself, because it has felt like I was dreaming. That night as we put our final things in our suitcases, took a deep breath, and came to the realization that we were not only taking our kids to Ethiopia, but that Biruk would in fact meet his birth mom…well, you had to pinch me, because it felt like I was dreaming. It also felt like the perfect moment to share this gift that we had been holding onto for 10 years. So we pulled out the necklace and gave it to Biruk. While words can be few and...
Read more

Stories Matter

Image
Yesterday, my family and I found ourselves at a local elementary school’s culture club, presenting about our trip to Ethiopia. Even as I write those words, it kind of blows my mind how God has continued to use our story in unexpected places. When the kids were old enough to understand, we began to talk about taking them back to their birth country when they turned 10. We figured at 10, they would be old enough to be pretty good travelers, but still approach the adventure with a childlike wonder. What we didn’t plan on, was that the year Biruk turned 10 would come on the heels of me taking a brand new job, our family moving to a new state, and buying our very first house, in an economy that felt as though it was tanking!  I remember talking to my counselor one day and sharing with him that while we had always promised this trip to our kids, it just didn’t seem to make financial sense. After all, last time I checked, Southwest Airlines does not travel to Africa. He said someth...
Read more