If we're "friends" on Facebook, then you know that this month I have been posting 1 or more posts/day regarding something about adoption. This is in celebration of National Adoption Month.
For us, this journey is not only about the boys we get to call our own, but about removing ignorance & indifference in our community.
Today is Day #22. It is also #nationaladoptionday here in the US
Oh the feels.
Then tonight, a spiritual leader near & dear to my heart asked us to reflect on what we're most thankful for this year.
Oh the feels.
Today has been a day of feels & LOTS of them.
In a nutshell, what I am thankful for most this year is that when God calls us to the impossible, He never asks us to do it alone. He gives us everything we need if we rest in His presence & trust Him with the impossible.
And I am so grateful that He has given us a family that extends beyond biologic ties into friendships that we cherish. During this adoption, our community has shown their support in very tangible, loving ways. They have shown up to volunteer & run 10 miles. They have prayed for us & over us (& our paperwork). They have donated money to our adoption. They have bought t-shirts & fair-trade jewelry with proceeds benefiting our adoption. They have prayed for the Lord to hold our boys tightly, protect their hearts, & keep them safe until we get to meet them (& ongoing). They have met us where we are & journeyed through days when we cheered & days when we cried.
For these things & more, I am grateful (and if I could have shared this verbally tonight without crying, I would have!)
Today is also #nationaladoptionday.
Oh the feels.
Days like today are wonderful & hard. Today, there are many families rejoicing in the finalization of their adoptive journeys. Children that woke up today with no place to belong, are resting tonight with the commitment of family; a place of identity; a new last name; a place to belong. We rejoice with them as their journey to healing & redemption begins! This is the "wonderful" of days like today....
Sidebar: if you want to check out some incredible pictures from today's celebrations, check out Together We Rise online or on Facebook.
The hard part about days like today is that there is an innate sense of loss & pain anytime there is the need for adoption. And I think about the children waiting for families; the children that will never be adopted; the children that will die waiting.
And then there is my own selfishness. Selfishly, with every picture I see, my heart wishes it was my boys, my family, my smiling face. I get how selfish this is, trust me I do. But it's the truth. I wish that tonight, our boys were home, safely tucked into their beds, with a new last name & a place to belong.
Instead we wait. We choose joy; we choose gratitude; & we work through all the feels one step at a time.
