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