First...the doctor. We wanted to do a consult to find out exactly what to expect with the girls and to plan accordingly...dentists, optometrists, therapists, etc. We were warned by many adoptive families to listen with half an ear, as many times doctors present worst case scenarios and misinterpret institutional behaviors for signs of serious neurological or physical defects. So I braced myself. I had been living in a worst-case-scenario mindset for a while anyways, so I was ready for it.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had a doctor who not only fell in love with our girls immediately, but who saw so much potential in them! She was incredibly positive and helpful, and while I never want to live in a world oblivious to reality, I will say that she inspired something in me I think I was starting to lose: HOPE.
And if that wasn't enough, this great big God that we serve had something else in store for us today...the doctor was giving us a tour of the office and introduced me to the rest of the staff...one of which is from Russia and speaks fluent Russian. If you ponder that for even ten seconds, you will see why that is HUGE!
Did I mention their office is 3.5 minutes from our house??? Or that they considered this a prenatal visit and so they didn't charge me???
The other soul medicine I got was from our boys. My facebook feed has been constantly filled with feeds about the difficulties of adoption. Which is good, because I don't want to go in blind. I want to see clearly all the hardships that are ahead of us. I want to be prepared. But in the midst of the preparation I forget about the beautiful side of adoption. Will and Mike reminded me of that.
I was starting my day later than usual, and so I was still doing devotions when they came downstairs. The troop went to the play room to hang out until I was ready to make breakfast. My youngest interrupted my devotions to ask if it would be okay if they sorted out their toys. They wanted to put aside some of their things to give to their sisters.
My heart melted!
They get it. They get the beauty in redemption.
My oldest then declined the offer to go to the fish store and make out a Christmas list; he said that he'd rather take his money to the store to buy his sisters a Christmas gift.
Oh, Father, let my heart be like my children's!
And my naturally worried self wondered if they were doing all of this because they don't understand the hardness that adoption brings. I felt like we'd done a good job explaining it. And I do think they get it, as much as their minds can.
Here's why I think so.
We have this picture in the boys' room.
It represents God's protection of us. Sin is bad rain, but God puts us under an umbrella of a long life and things going well for us, if we honor and obey our parents. If we don't honor and obey our parents, we choose to take our hearts out into the bad rain. We must be rescued! When we are disciplined, that is God rescuing us.
We have told the boys that our girls have had no one to teach them about God and Jesus, and so they might do very hurtful things at first because they're so scared. It will be our job to help them learn about God and Jesus' love so that they can trust and obey and honor.
My oldest gave me this picture the other day. He explained, as best he could, that he figured there wouldn't be a lot of sunshine in our house when the girls came home. But that we would walk through the rain together. And this is all of us, with umbrellas.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that we had a doctor who not only fell in love with our girls immediately, but who saw so much potential in them! She was incredibly positive and helpful, and while I never want to live in a world oblivious to reality, I will say that she inspired something in me I think I was starting to lose: HOPE.
And if that wasn't enough, this great big God that we serve had something else in store for us today...the doctor was giving us a tour of the office and introduced me to the rest of the staff...one of which is from Russia and speaks fluent Russian. If you ponder that for even ten seconds, you will see why that is HUGE!
Did I mention their office is 3.5 minutes from our house??? Or that they considered this a prenatal visit and so they didn't charge me???
The other soul medicine I got was from our boys. My facebook feed has been constantly filled with feeds about the difficulties of adoption. Which is good, because I don't want to go in blind. I want to see clearly all the hardships that are ahead of us. I want to be prepared. But in the midst of the preparation I forget about the beautiful side of adoption. Will and Mike reminded me of that.
I was starting my day later than usual, and so I was still doing devotions when they came downstairs. The troop went to the play room to hang out until I was ready to make breakfast. My youngest interrupted my devotions to ask if it would be okay if they sorted out their toys. They wanted to put aside some of their things to give to their sisters.
My heart melted!
They get it. They get the beauty in redemption.
My oldest then declined the offer to go to the fish store and make out a Christmas list; he said that he'd rather take his money to the store to buy his sisters a Christmas gift.
Oh, Father, let my heart be like my children's!
And my naturally worried self wondered if they were doing all of this because they don't understand the hardness that adoption brings. I felt like we'd done a good job explaining it. And I do think they get it, as much as their minds can.
Here's why I think so.
We have this picture in the boys' room.
It represents God's protection of us. Sin is bad rain, but God puts us under an umbrella of a long life and things going well for us, if we honor and obey our parents. If we don't honor and obey our parents, we choose to take our hearts out into the bad rain. We must be rescued! When we are disciplined, that is God rescuing us.
We have told the boys that our girls have had no one to teach them about God and Jesus, and so they might do very hurtful things at first because they're so scared. It will be our job to help them learn about God and Jesus' love so that they can trust and obey and honor.
My oldest gave me this picture the other day. He explained, as best he could, that he figured there wouldn't be a lot of sunshine in our house when the girls came home. But that we would walk through the rain together. And this is all of us, with umbrellas.
Matthew 18:3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.
That is wonderful news about the doctor and the Russian speaker! And I love your boys' hearts! That picture is priceless.
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