Just Another Orphan Sunday

         It happens every year.  On this Sunday in November, the calendar reads "Orphan Sunday."  And every year, I feel it deeply.  It wasn't always so.  But for the last 12 years I haven't been able to escape it. But then again, I don't want to escape it.  The reality remains that 147,000,000 orphans exist worldwide.  That didn't always break my heart.  But my heart is not the same as it was a dozen years ago.  I have been personally undone and redone by this phenomenon called adoption.  I have crawled the depths and soared the heights of this miraculous journey of witnessing the unorphaning of one of the least of these.
        It was a year ago that we took our daughter back to the land of her birth. We showed her the must-see destinations and discover new treasures too.  Probably the highlight of the entire journey was visiting her orphanage for the first time in 11 years.  We are beyond grateful for this opportunity. As her mother, I am trusting that God uses this experience to grow my girl, to show her how very much she is loved, to forever change her heart as well.   It was all I could do to breathe in these moments just like I breathed in the moments of our first meeting.  So much was identitcal. The decor, the beds, the sights, the sounds and the people were all the same.  But this time, my girl walked through this baby house, not as an orphan.  She was escorted through the halls as a beloved daughter, a chosen child, a ful-fledged member of a loving family. This time, she was just visiting.  As we toured her baby room, we saw her bed.  She was given the opportunity to hold the orphan sleeping in what was her bed.  Be still my heart!  To see the unorphaned holding the orphan, is a moment unfit for words.  Forever changed...again.  There is just no way to get beyond this reality.  147,000,000 orphans...each with a face, a name, a purpose, a need.  I will always be a part.  I can't help it.  It is a part of me now.  And for this, I am forever in His debt.  For I too, am no longer orphaned.  I am undone by God's love and faithfulness.  He redeems it all. 

The UNORPHANED holding the ORPHAN 

Thing 4 Turns 12!!!

       About this time each year, the pondering continues. Reflecting back over the last eleven years, since she appeared on our scene, dominates the day.  So many things that I yearn to know, yearn to recall, yearn to share with her.  Not profound things, just normal things that we take for granted with our children's births.  Details of her birth, likely born in a home setting, creates so many questions.  Was her birth full term or was she a premie? Did she cry her robust and alarmingly, loud cry when she took her first breath? Or was she too tiny to muster that much of a cry? Was she wrapped warmly and snuggled by her biological mother in the moments after her birth, cherished like all babies should be? Was she healthly despite her tiny size? Exactly what was her size? How tiny were her little feet? Did she have raven's hair atop her tiny little head? What sweet words were spoken over her? Promises made? Were there tears and fears that seem so likely for a young mother obviously ill-prepared to parent a new born? None of these questions has given up its mysterious answer, despite the repeated pondering these last 11 years.  There is so much I can't share with her, even after our recent return to place of her birth. 

Meeting her daddy for the first time. Ponder that!

Meeting the orphan babe who resides in the same crib she slept in 11 years ago. Ponder that!

 

There is, however, much truth that I can share.  No doubt, she was fearfully and wonderfully made by the God who sees.  He saw her tiny figure born that day 12 years ago.  He provided for her needs, however meager that might have been.  He protected her and held her safely in His arms.  He already knew she would be adopted into our family. Never once was she forgotten or unwanted. She has been prayed for and loved.  At no time has she ever been out of His care.  I am blessed to be her mother, to be the one to make her birthday cakes, to tell her stories of how God moved to write her life story.  I will recall and remember all the details I can.  Cause that what mothers do.  We ponder and we pour into our children.  We bake and decorate and light candles for each year. We pray that God grows them up and continues to write their stories to bring honor, glory and renown to His most Holy Name.  Happy Birthday, my Little One! I love you more than you can know!

February 10th...Amazing Day!!!! Three Huge Hallelujahs!!!

Amazing Day!!!!  Three Huge Hallelujahs!!!

February 10th is HUGE at this house!!! Sixteen years ago, we honored this guy's birthday in a once-in-a-lifetime kinda way.

We wished him "Happy Birthday" with the birth of his 7th grandchild!  Yes, indeed he no longer owns the day, but will share it with this guy...

Sweetest baby ever!!! Easy going and so kind-hearted,

even as a wee lad! 

 Gotta love this boy! Quiet and creative and still so loving. 

Love that he'll still give his mama hugs in public! 

 

 Now, this day, he is sixteen! How? When? Love this unassuming, peaceable, patient, easy-going kid! Happy Birthday, Micah!

While this child was making his entrance into this world, his big sister was making spiritual history. She was in 1st grade at SCA, when she felt the call to accept Christ as her Savior and Lord. She prayed to receive Christ and was born again on the very same day that her little brother was born. That makes for a very special day, anyway you look at it! Happy Spiritual Birthday to my amazing daughter, Miranda!

This day can't hold any more goodness!  All praise to the Lord! 

 

11th Birthday Reflections

The ground was covered in a layer of snow, one day eleven years ago.  It was not your average day.  It like NEVER snows in Baku, Azerbaijan! Something else about that day made a mark on history.  It was the day she was born.  What I would have given to be there, to see this miracle, to know the begining of her story.  I have imagined it hundreds of times.  These are details that I may never know this side of heaven. I choose, therefore to focus on the things that I do know...

        *She has been wanted every day of her life....God placed her in my heart before she was ever born.

        *There has never been a day she has been out of His care, though I was not priviledged to
be her mother until she was nearly 10 months old.

       *This child was fearfully and wonderfully made.  To know her is to know the truth of this claim.

       *God uses her mightily in my life. When I look at her, I see God's hand of faithfulness.

       *She has a HUGE HEART for others in need, the likes of which is rarely seen in a child her age.

       *I did not approve of this birthday, but it seems I have no choice, but to watch her turn another year older; to celebrate what heaven celebrates; to give thanks to the Lord for making it so.

       *To remember with an unspeakable love and gratitude, the birthmother who gave so unselfishly to choose life for the child we both call daughter.  May I never take her for granted.   I pray that God meets her at the very point of her need, out of His limitless resources, to bring His PEACE & LOVE to her heart.

       *To wish my baby girl a very HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Disclaimer: If the hamster you got today for your birthday gets loose in this house, I am not to be held responsible for my actions. 

Ten Year Gotcha!!!

Every October ushers in a change of season with crisp fall air, beautifully changing leaves and pumpkin-flavored everything. But around our house October means Gotcha Day. And this October celebrates a milestone 10 Years!!!  It was ten years ago that God forever changed our hearts and lives with this child. 

It was ten years ago that God forever changed her life as well.  He changed her name, her world, her future and her story.  No longer was she an orphan, she became our daughter.  She was a tiny wisp of a babe, (15LBS fully clothed in winter attire) when we walked away from the Baby House that day. Not quite 10 months old, she had already been down a hard road. But God!  He is quite the Creator, ya know.  To have crafted this sweet thing with all her intricacies still blows my mind. I have always prayed that God would use her story to be the seed that grows her faith. I can't give her my faith, but I can recite God's faithfulness over her life, time and time again.  Every year she grows and matures before my eyes. God has birthed in her a love and compassion for others...for orphans.  Oh My Heart!  To be so young and determined to change her world is such an answer to this mama's prayers. I sit back in awestruck wonder and watch her heart look more and more like the heart of God.

This past summer she was moved by a sermon preached at church about adoption and the plight of the orphan. She came home resolved to make a difference. She boldly told me, "Mom, I want to raise money for orphans. I will start The Orphan Company and I will sell brownies and bracelets and raise $100 for orphans!" She had it all figured out and she was on mission!  I supported her 100% in her mission. I watched as she started beading bracelets for friends. I taught her how to follow directions, measure and bake brownies.  After three days of baking and selling brownies, this girl can crack and egg like a boss!  Oh, and then some mothers requested bracelets. We decided to design a bracelet for those with more grown-up tastes.  It was quickly dubbed "the Orphan bracelet" with it's unique O-ring design that reminds us to pray for orphans. Fast forward 3 months, and prepare to be amazed at the faithfulness of our Lord.  By this time, she had chosen 2 adoptive families to receive the Orphan Company money.  They were each adopting 2 orphans. So money raised will assist in bringing home four more orphans. My prayer is that she sees the Sovereign hand of the Lord in this experience. She gave her little & God made it much.  Much more than her goal of $100.  He blew us away!  Don't you love it when God leaves you awestruck?  On the weekend of her 10yr Gotcha Day celebration, she presented these families with their gifts. It was a lovely moment. One that we will never forget. She has seen the first 2 of those orphans lose their orphan status and come home to their loving families. Hopefully she will meet them soon.  We are still trusting God for the other two precious orphans to come home.  God is faithful & good.  God is in the details and the timing.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate our 10yr Gotcha Day than that!  I love what God is doing in the heart of my little world changer.  May He continue to work in my heart as well. 

 

A Special Moment in Time

It was ten years ago, this day.  We were just minding our our business, when totally unexpected.....wait, who am I kidding? It was the moment this mama had been waiting for, week after week after week. Sue, our dear program director, called with the best news I could think of. She called to tell us about the answer to our prayers, the little girl our hearts had waited to know. This thing called adoption is not for the weak of heart.  When you sign on, you sign your future over to the sovereign hand of the Lord. But, really, who better to handle the details of life than the One who Created it all?  I am confident that My Father ordains the stops, the starts & the stalls in my life.  I can't fathom all the details that had to come together in order for that little girl to find her way into our hearts, into our family.  And He does that for each of us, for the least of these, because that brings Him delight.  He sees the orphan, and He promises that He will not leave them. He will come to them, through the hearts of you and I.  We stepped out in obedience, jumping through hoops on city, county, state, national & international levels.  We waded through piles of paperwork and prayed and prayed and prayed.  We learned quickly that we had zero control over the timetable. But God!  He was working all things together for good. 

And when it was time, when she was ready & when we were ready, the phone rang.  I grabbed a clipboard & pen, and began feverishly writing down every detail, while blinking through the tears.  We would wait another 20 hours before our eyes would behold this adorable child. 

 

God surprised us with so many of the details of her description, and challenged us with others.  None of it caught God by surprise.  He was in every detail.  The waiting room was necessary for me.  God was growing my faith as each silent week passed.  Trust Him in the waiting room.  He sees. He knows.  He spent time in the details.  Oh, the glory that is seen in the details.  I will never get over Him, or His love for us, or for this child.    

A Most Memorable Memorial Day....Both Then & Now

It was Memorial Day in the year 1995.  My little man, two at the time, managed to make it memorable.  When I got him up from his nap, he explained to me, that his throat hurt because he "fwallowed the needle from the other hole."  I begin feverishly looking for pins or needles in his bed linens...to no avail. He adamantly repeats, "I fwallowed the needle!"  So I tried a new approach & asked him to show me the other hole. He points to an empty screw hole from his bed rail. He had apparently backed out a short screw & accidentally swallowed it. Oh Great! Now what?  Off to the ER we went.  Knowing the, shall we say 'dislike for doctors' expressed by my boy, I began to prep him for the experience as if it were a grand adventure to the hospital.  I prompted him to greet everyone who came up to him with a cheerful "Hello! I fwallowed a screw!"  He did wonderfully! He told everyone...including a police officer in the hall. The officer looked at me, & having no defense, I could only smile sheepishly & shrug. What is a mother to do?

After x-rays, we found that his screw had passed through his stomach without damage and entered his intestines. We now had to wait for him to pass the screw for as many days as it may take. We were given instructions on what red flags to watch for & hopefully that would be the end of it.  So for a full week, we examined each & every dirty diaper for this missing screw...a full, long, memorable week!  Finally it appeared! We breathed a sigh of relief, while holding our noses, & life went on.

So, fast forward about 17 years to another memorable Memorial Day.  For this year, marks the first year I can say that I am a Marine Mom. I am mother to one of our nation's finest.  So I have had a brand new vantage point from which to view this special day.  I am both proud & humbled by this new role. I am much more grateful for the sacrifices made by our nation's heroes, because I have a personal investment this time. My boy has chosen to walk this road, to serve our country, and protect her freedoms, no matter the cost.  I fully support him & others like him with my whole heart.

From the time he was born  till this day and on for years to come, God has been growing my boy, preparing him for a great work, equipping him for a special task.  I have no idea what that day will look like, or what that task might be. But I trust God to continue to grow my boy for His kingdom's purpose.  I am so grateful that I could pick up the phone today & hear his voice. Many cannot.  I will be his biggest cheerleader and encourager.  Just as I prepped him for his hospital adventure, I encourage him now, to seek & serve the Lord with all his heart, mind & strength.  I want him to serve people, meet needs & make a difference as a world changer.  So I guess you could say that not so much has changed. Well, one thing HAS changed.  My boy no longer snacks on screws.  These days he munches on bullets!