Becki…email me!!!

Okay I have been wanting to write this post since the day of Yaya’s surgery and I am finally getting to it. It’s a strange title I know, but I want Becki’s attention if she is still following the blog. On the day of Yaya’s surgery I got the most surprising comment on our blog and it blessed me to tears to receive it. On Yaya’s “Gotcha Day” there was only one other adoptive family receiving a child at the same time we were, and they came to get their son who also had cleft lip/palate. The difference between our two families was that their son had the HUGE blessing of coming from an incredible foster family. Eric and I marveled at the love that poured out of this family and filled the entire civil affairs office. I want to say there were 5 other children and watching them broke my heart. This little boy was loved. It was so hard to watch them hand over this precious little life that they had cared for and clearly come to love dearly. I kept telling Eric, “That is a true calling from God, I don’t know how their hearts survive doing this time after time.” I admire foster families so very much. They stayed for a very long time and waited patiently for the new family to leave with with their foster son. They had to endure much of our experience as well…they got the full force of Yaya’s grief, fear and anger. We were shocked and even further moved for this family when we saw them again the next day at the civil affairs office for the paperwork stuff! I was told that the adopting couple requested them to come back. May I say that I marvel at this family that they would go through a second gut wrenching good-bye. Eric and I talked often of this incredible family who serves and loves the children of China. Little did I know that they would find our journey and follow it! I can’t explain why it means so much that this precious family has followed our journey. Perhaps because they are really the only other people that knew what we went through when we got Yaya. And they gave me so many comforting looks and smiles while Yaya was thrashing about in my arms. They were hurting for our family too. I don’t know, it is hard to explain. I suppose it is a similar connection like when total strangers share a tragedy and are instantly bonded. It was a tragic day as much as it was a glorious day. That is how I feel about this family. So Becki…email me! I would love to keep in touch with you!

I also want to say a shout out to my family at Red Ridge United Methodist Church. Thank you so much for following our journey and your kind words of encouragement and all your prayers; it all helps more than you know. Blogging was never something I thought I’d do, or do consistently, I am amazed at how many lives Yaya’s life is touching. I have always known that this little girl would have a great impact on our family and the world around us but it continues to amaze and humble me how God is using a little Chinese orphan to impact the lives of so many. And really her story is our story.  We are all orphans that God has adopted into His family, so I why I wonder at what he is doing through Yaya, I don’t know. I suppose it is because she is unsuspecting of it all. She has no idea the impact she is making throughout the world. I pray that one day this information will help her hurting heart as she struggles with her story and with who she is. I pray that it will point her to who she really is in Christ; that she won’t define herself by who her biological or adoptive parents are but by who her Heavenly Father is and by how HE made her and for what purpose.

All this to say…to all of you silent followers and all of you commenting encouraging followers…I thank you for sharing in our story, it makes life a little brighter knowing we are in good company along our journey. Thank you.