I grabbed this sweet shot yesterday as we were walking out of church with a sleeping Eviemira in her oldest sissy’s arms. A picture of such love and trust.
I became overwhelmed because, in the same moment, I had a sobering flashback of walking through her orphanage a hot day in June, as a family, and seeing a stark room full of cribs, and imagining her (among so many children) having to put herself to sleep alone for 3.5 years in an institution with no one to rock her, or sing to her or let her fall asleep in the safety of their arms.
I also remember how much she fought our arms when we tried rocking her to sleep those first few weeks. She did not know or understand what it meant to be “rocked,” and cuddled and it broke our hearts😢. But we knew this was typical behavior of children who lived in an orphanage. And this is the very same reason why every night she falls asleep being “held”.
Adoption is about an endless pursuit for a broken heart that can sometimes leave you weary, yet in such awe. Because, moments like these show the fruit of God’s power to rebuild and redeem.
Slowly, over the last 6 months, as we have been intentionally building her trust, we’ve watched so many behaviors of anxiety and fear just melt away. We’ve seen her heart graft into the branches of our hearts.
Adoption is a messy miracle that is laced with both sorrow and joy. And, the honor to witness this miracle (4 times over) is never lost on me, but sometimes there are these powerful moments when God stops me in my tracks, and overwhelms my heart with the magnitude of His love …. not just for the “orphan “ but for us all.
Because, “we” were the orphans. The story of adoption is really all our stories.
𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒶𝒹𝑜𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎
God came down to earth to adopt “us” and graft us into His kingdom inheritance. We were lost and now we’re found. His relentless hunt of our broken hearts continually redeems our stories and rescues our souls, even in the valleys.
Earthly Adoption mirrors our Father’s unshakable love.
He never wearies of chasing us down and binding up our broken hearts.
We are sons and daughters.
We are His.
Christmas is OUR adoption story. 🎄