How Time Flies!

I truly feel like Micah has been part of our family since his birth.  And actually, I guess he has been, even before he was born.  Five years ago (yesterday), we filed our application to adopt from India.  While he was still in his birth mother's tummy, God was preparing our family for him to join us!

Our application to adopt was filed September 24 and 1 year later, on the same date, we got the call for Micah's referral!  Too cool!  Many, many miracles happened (too many to recount here today) to make this possible.  But looking back, we realize we were blessed beyond measure!  At the time of Micah's referral, it seemed like a family was traveling every month to pick up their child, so we not only got to see a referral photo (below), but we got to see a current photo of him at 6 months old (above)!  Those huge dark chocolate eyes, and pouty lips.  Needless to say, I fell in love immidiately...and forever!

In the Waiting

To me, these two signs perfectly represent what International adoption from India is like right now.  And I'm not even in process!  There are many who find themselves "in the waiting" right now with no certain or clear picture of what lies ahead of them on this journey.  It is difficult for us, as we begin to talk about starting another adoption journey, to know exactly how to read these signs.  Do we need to buckle our seat belts, and proceed toward India and the unknown with caution, or do we turn aside and begin to investigate another country?  Right now, we have the liberty to make that decision.  For those friends of ours, and those we don't know, I just wanted to share a word of encouragement that I came across this week.

Job, speaking from a place of total hopelessness and no control over his own life, speaks these words to his friends...

Job 9:4-11 (NLT)

For God is so wise and so mighty.  Who has ever challenged him successfully?

"Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger.

He shakes the earth from it's place, and it's foundations tremble.

If he commands it, the sun won't rise and the stars won't shine.

He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea.

He made all the stars - the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.

He does great things too marvelous to understand.

He performs countless miracles."

Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.

When he moves by, I do not see him go.

I was reminded that God is always working for his children.  We may not see what he is doing, but we can rest with confidence that he is actively moving and the God who places the sun and stars in their place, and holds the oceans at bay, can easily bring his children to their forever home!  Nothing can stop him from working his purpose!

Psalms 37:7a

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act!

Easter Eggs

                                                                 
One of my favorite little games that Micah plays, is a word game.  It goes something like this.

Micah: Mom, you know how I love you?

Me: How much do you love me?

Micah: Ummmm...all the way to the ceiling!

Me: Wow, that's alot of love!  You know how I love you?

Micah: How?

Me: All the way to India (or Colorado, or to Aunt Cheri's, or some other far off location)

Micah: You know how I love you?

Me: How much?

Micah: This tiny.  (Here he gives me a big grin and holds up two little fingers close together)

Me: No way! It's this much! (This is when I open his arms wide and tickle him silly)

Today I was thinking about how I love this little game he plays, and how much it breaks my heart to think that he might ever question whether or not he was meant to be part of our family.  I thought of the discussions we've had recently about the color of his skin.  Then, for some reason, maybe because we just had Easter, I thought of eggs!  I know it's not very theological, but it seems to fit.  We are all the same on the inside...created in the image of a beautiful God.  We have blood, bones, muscle, a heart and a soul.  Our outsides, however, are very different.  Our shells, have been painted and designed by a very creative God!  And it's a marvelously wonderful thing that we are each unique!  I hope all my children grow up believing this simple, fantastic truth!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made!

Well, it's happened. I did not expect it really till Kindergarten. All the books said that Kindergarten was about the time when kids would start to ask questions because of a sudden awareness brought on by comments from their school friends. Micah will turn 4 in a couple of weeks, and the questions have been coming this month like a whirlwind.

• Did you know I am brown?
• Why am I brown?
• I want to be white like you!
• Am I dark or light?
• Who was in your tummy?
• Was I in your tummy?

Micah knows his story...the story of how he came to be part of our family. He watches his homecoming video all the time, reads his "Micah's Story," book, etc. We talk all the time about how God designs families and He puts them together in all different kinds of ways. This particular vein of questioning, however, is new.

One thing that has been so helpful, is that we are being intentional about finding friends who look like us! When he starts to question, I first remind Micah that God created him brown for a reason and that I LOVE his brown color. Then, we go over other families we know who are like us! I will say, "Remember Jake (Micah's new best friend) is brown and his mommy is white? And, Eli is brown and his brother is white! And our friend Suhas is brown and his wife, Abby, is white!" "Oh, yeah," he'll say with a grin, and that seems to satisfy him for the moment. Another big help to me has been Psalms 139. I remind him that God says he is "fearfully and wonderfully made," and that when God "formed him in the womb," He made him exactly like He wanted him and for a wonderful purpose! I am so honored that I get to be mommy to this wonderful, inquisitive little boy from India!

Managing Memories

I am reading an excellant book by Mark Batterson, called "Soul Print." In chapter 2 Mark talks about the importance of Lifesymbols in remembering important things from our past and how God was faithful in and through each experience. At one point he mentions...

"One of my earliest and strongest memories is the first time I rode a bike. Part of the reason the memory is so strong is because I've heard my parents tell the story so many times. And that is one of the jobs of parents. They manage their children's memories by the stories they tell, the keepsakes they save, and the pictures they take."

This made me stop to think about the memories I am helping to manage for all my children, but especially Micah's. We made him a memory book of "his story" of becoming part of our family and he loves to read it all the time. He even makes up "memories" of when he was a baby in India. However, I started to wonder if that was enough.

This month is National Adoption Awareness Month, and we recently had an Adoption Awareness Sunday at our church. We invited speaker and author, Ted Kluck, to come and speak. He is the author of the book, "Hello, I Love You," and it is the story of their adoption journey to their two boys from the Ukraine. Part of the book was bits and pieces of the journal letters he wrote to his first son during his adoption process. Their family had an extremely difficult adoption experience, but throughout the story was woven threads of joy and beauty in the process that he wanted to remember so that he could share these things with his sons as they got older.

Of course I was reminded of my time in India as we traveled to bring Micah home. Our process was extremely smooth, but I had a very difficult time in the country and came back with some very negative feelings and little desire to go back. I was reminded by our dear caseworker that I needed to give it time, but I also needed to remember the good things about our time there and maybe even write them down. This would enable me to begin to look on my sons birth country with fondness and maybe even love as we shared the memories together as he grows and wants to know more of his story.

This was a fantastic idea, and as the years begin to pass by since Micah's adoption experience, I find myself remembering more and more the good things over the difficult. I am taking the task seriously to manage Micah's memories and I hope that as he grows, the memories will fill him with joy and thanksgiving!

Choices

Last night as I watched the news and heard about Steve Jobs passing away, I was saddened. I am not a "techy" person and do not understand any of it, but my husband is a Mac and I-phone user, so I am familiar with the contributions that Apple has made to our generation. :)

What I did take away from the stories I heard last night was one in particular that made my heart smile. Steve Jobs was born to an unwed college student who chose to place him up for adoption instead of choosing abortion for her son. Maybe a seemingly insignigicant choice to her at the time, or maybe one that she agonized over. Whatever the case, she chose life, and that son literally changed our world and the way we communicate today!

Just goes to show that EVERY choice that we make is significant! We might never see the results, or know the people it has affected, either negatively or poitively, but it has affected something or someone. Last night I was reminded that choosing to do things God's way just makes sense!

The Road Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I heard a comparison today between Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken," and the scripture in Matthew 7:13-14, which compares 2 gates. In the poem, the author chooses the path less traveled by and says that his choice made all the difference. In Matthew, Christ says, "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it." The question was then asked of the comparison..."What path in your life have you followed that my have been the "path less traveled by?"

Now, neither the poem nor the scripture is speaking about adoption specifically, but that is the first thing that came to my mind. Adoption is definitely the path less traveled by, and unfortunately, there are few who seem to enter this gate and experience the life and blessing that adoption brings. Adoption is a huge step of faith, and I am beginning to think that FAITH is the road less traveled by. It surely leads to LIFE, and without making the decision to step out in faith, we miss so much of God's blessing in our lives. I am sorry to say, there are not very many times I have stepped out in faith to follow where I feel God leading. It is easier to step out if you feel like it all works on paper, or if it is within your control, etc. But, by hesitating, or choosing the clearer path, we miss seeing and experiencing the MIRACLES of God! In our journey through life, I wish these experiences were the norm instead of just occasional occurances!

What would life be like if we all "took the road less traveled by?" I think it would make "all the difference!"