Miracles Happen

            Much has happened since I last wrote.  The children have grown.  They seem much louder now, somehow.  Ha!  They are all both best friends and worst enemies, depending on the moment, as is certainly true with all siblings.  Little Man is enjoying school and learning SO much this year.  He is confident and amazing us all with what he is retaining, even surpassing what professional testing told us he may be able to achieve in some things.  He has sweet little friends that light up when they see him.  I often have to brush away tears as their mothers send me video messages they send to him.  Who could have imagined that the frail, forgotten toddler would one day be surrounded by such true, deep love?!

            Despite all of the wonderful things happening in his life, he still has many struggles.  Life without a family for his first three years has shaped who he is and will forever alter the way he sees and copes with the world.  I naively thought that a young child would have less permanent trauma than an older child, but the truth is, it doesn't seem to matter.  Adoption always comes from loss;  there is no way around it.  And depending on what your situation is as you wait for a new family, trauma can be piled on top of trauma.  Unfortunately, for Little Man, his every-growing list of physical special needs adds to the differences in his life.  It is not often that he finds a moment where either his trauma or physical needs do not impact him in some way.

           Sometime in the next few weeks, we are expecting to be admitted to a nearby children's hospital for some testing and procedures.  We have seen firsthand the hand of God move at the prayers of His people.  Would you join us in praying over these things?  You can pray for everything from Little Man's emotions to his physical ailments, but specifically we need God to move with Little Man's eating.  He is losing weight again, and he does not have any to spare.  The spiral for Little Man can be significant and fast.  I have, on multiple occasions, had people tell me, hours after the fact, that they felt moved to pray over a specific meal for him, never knowing that he ate the entire meal and asked for more.  I should not be surprised to see God so faithful in these small things anymore, but it certainly still takes my breath away.

           It has been so exciting to me to watch as God opens paths for us to walk down that lead us to people that Little Man needs.  He has dropped multiple specialists into our laps who have experience with institutionalized children and extensive training in his specific needs.  If I remember correctly, the last time I counted we see between 10-12 specialists a year, some of those, multiple times.  God is helping us to weed out the ones that are not making a difference and add to the list those who Little Man desperately needs.

           In addition to doctors we need, God has shown His individual care for us as He has allowed us to deepen old friendships, moved us to a new church, provided everything we need, surrounded us with people our souls have desperately needed, and continued to place people in our lives that we can, hopefully, bless in return.  Last year, He gave us a year of rest and refreshing that our hearts were craving.  This year, I hope we find opportunities to pour ourselves out in love of others.

          Speaking of God's hand in bringing people into our lives, about two-ish years ago, I was sitting in the lobby at Big Sister's ballet class and this lady walked in.  I was immediately intrigued by the prominent outline of my favorite Eastern European country on her shirt.  Those of you who know me personally, know it is not in my nature to just strike up a conversation with someone I don't know, but there was no way I was not going to ask about this!  As it turned out, it was for one of her friend's adoption fundraiser from Little Man's home country!  And wouldn't you know, she and her husband were in the beginning stages of planning their own adoption.  Bam!  New friend!

         That had been a very dark year for our family, but God let this new friend walk straight into my life and she has taken up home in my heart forever.  There have been times that I sat across from her, with tears in my eyes, as she has spoken the words of Jesus straight into my soul.  We hold our cups of hot chocolate and marvel that as we are gathered, He is certainly in our midst.

         This may seem an odd thing to discuss on this blog, but at this EXACT MOMENT, she and her husband are in Asia, meeting their new son for the first time.  And I can't help but weep.  In the day to day of motherhood, I so often forget that Little Man is a miracle.  The weaving of him into our family is a literal miracle.  How could I forget that the very deliberate, grace of God is sleeping in the room next to me?  I think of my friend and the miracle of an orphan becoming a son, RIGHT NOW.  He will never be without a father, a mother, siblings, a family.  He is not forgotten, he is a son.  

        And I'm just amazed at the glory of God shining all around us.  The daily struggles and the small victories.  The forgotten miracles of yesterday as we go about a new day.  But today, I can sit still and see the miracle.  I can see all of the tiny ways God wove friendships together and made new families. What a mighty, loving God He is!  May He be praised forever, for His goodness knows no bounds!

         The enemy would choose to keep children in orphanages, but in His name alone, the enemy is always defeated.  I can hear bells of freedom ring out as another child finds refuge in a family.  Nothing could ever stop His love.  Will you pray, this moment for our friends, their children, and their newest son?  My hope is he is welcomed into their loving arms with an army storming heaven's gates on his behalf.

         Miracles happen, people.  Miracles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4KE1nPifwQ