Well, It happened. My little guy turned 10 today. I can hardly believe he is ten years old. When we saw his sweet face... that quiet little two year old boy.... was small and fragile. His eyes were full of stories, and his mouth held only a few words. We honestly wondered if he was human.... because he was absolutely perfect. The first two years of his life were full of circumstances and situations that no child should ever have to experience. The lessons that he learned in those two years left scars that may never heal. Hard to believe that experiences that a child has before they are three years old have such an impact on their life, but sometimes it happens that way.
I have always been inspired by adoption. I know it is a story that weaves in and out of the lives of many people I know, and those that I don't know at all. Each story different in its own way. Our story is perhaps like many others. Complications with the delivery of my twin girls, five years earlier, resulted in a hysterectomy. I was blessed to escape the operating room alive. And as the time approached for the twins to start school..... the yearning took hold. I needed, I wanted, I longed for another child. I prayed and prayed and cried and begged God to bless us with a son. We fostered seven boys over the course of three years, all in hopes of adopting a son or two. The joy as each child entered our home, paired with the devastation of their departure was almost enough to destroy me. When we received the phone call about our boy... I couldn't allow myself to accept that what I had prayed for was about to happen.
This boy, was mine. This boy, was the one I prayed for. God had heard. God had answered my prayer. When we stood in that courtroom to finalize the adoption, I felt a peace. This amazing boy, was mine.
Things do not come easy for my boy. He struggles in school and still bears some of the "scars" from those two years before I saw his face. But I can say this. The old soul, the little "jesus" that I see in his eyes..... has the power to teach me.
God's provision
God's timing
God always hears me
every word we say to one another matters
contentment is possible
Adoption changed my life. Adoption gave me my boy.
The boy he is today....
is a great picture of the man he will be tomorrow.
And my heart is proud.
I love you son.
Happy Birthday.
