An Unexpected Gift
As you *may have* gathered from my mental health blog, this has been an interesting month. Lots on the heart and mind and TOO much time to think.
However, today I got a surprise. But let me back up first.
Recently I've become good friends with Rachel, a fellow adoptive Mama. Although she's a little pretty for my taste (Love you!), we connected quickly over shared experiences. Her son Ben, home 7 months from China, is my buddy. He is basically the cutest mini-gentleman you will ever meet. He enjoys drinking tea from his personalized mug, making fancy meals with his kitchen set, and giving some intense side-eye. Visits with them are always a highlight of my week.
Today, I got to play host. Rachel and I drank tea, while Ben pretended to be interested in the lame toys I brought down from the attic for him. Just a lazy day. Randomly, I asked Rachel, "When is Ben's birthday?" Her response took my breath away: "July 26th."
Do you remember the term "DTE" from any of my earlier blogs? It stands for "Dossier to Ethiopia," meaning the date our paperwork arrived in country and when our "official" adoption wait began. For us it was July 26, 2013. And in a stalled international adoption, that anniversary can be haunting. Which is why we found a Compassion child born that day, our attempt at creating lemonade from the sourest of lemons. But Jesus one-upped us, as He tends to do. I can almost hear Him, "You thought this day was forever going to be a reminder of loss, of earthly incompletion. But I am a Redeemer, come to make Every.Single.Thing new. Now, on that very anniversary, you can rejoice with your friends over being united with their beautiful son. That they get to celebrate all his future birthdays TOGETHER."
I've said it before, but Good Friday did NOT seem good to the ones experiencing it. In fact, it was a really, stinking bad Friday. Followed by a terrible Saturday. THEN came Easter Sunday. Ugh-Waiting is not my strong suit and perhaps it isn't yours. We want the miracle NOW. But listen: Sometimes the miracle needs time to be born. Trust me, it WILL be worth the wait.
However, today I got a surprise. But let me back up first.
Recently I've become good friends with Rachel, a fellow adoptive Mama. Although she's a little pretty for my taste (Love you!), we connected quickly over shared experiences. Her son Ben, home 7 months from China, is my buddy. He is basically the cutest mini-gentleman you will ever meet. He enjoys drinking tea from his personalized mug, making fancy meals with his kitchen set, and giving some intense side-eye. Visits with them are always a highlight of my week.
Today, I got to play host. Rachel and I drank tea, while Ben pretended to be interested in the lame toys I brought down from the attic for him. Just a lazy day. Randomly, I asked Rachel, "When is Ben's birthday?" Her response took my breath away: "July 26th."
Do you remember the term "DTE" from any of my earlier blogs? It stands for "Dossier to Ethiopia," meaning the date our paperwork arrived in country and when our "official" adoption wait began. For us it was July 26, 2013. And in a stalled international adoption, that anniversary can be haunting. Which is why we found a Compassion child born that day, our attempt at creating lemonade from the sourest of lemons. But Jesus one-upped us, as He tends to do. I can almost hear Him, "You thought this day was forever going to be a reminder of loss, of earthly incompletion. But I am a Redeemer, come to make Every.Single.Thing new. Now, on that very anniversary, you can rejoice with your friends over being united with their beautiful son. That they get to celebrate all his future birthdays TOGETHER."
I've said it before, but Good Friday did NOT seem good to the ones experiencing it. In fact, it was a really, stinking bad Friday. Followed by a terrible Saturday. THEN came Easter Sunday. Ugh-Waiting is not my strong suit and perhaps it isn't yours. We want the miracle NOW. But listen: Sometimes the miracle needs time to be born. Trust me, it WILL be worth the wait.
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