Friends for the Journey

There have been innumerable gifts along this journey called infertility and adoption. But one of the greatest gifts has been the friends from across the country, whom I've never met, that share some aspect of our story. There have been more tears as I've read different blogs and emails, and crazy head-bobbing as I know their journey (similar to how God knows mine). And it's been healing for me to recount my story, offer encouragement and prayers, and just affirm "I know".

The most recent example is this POST from my friend, Andrea.

BTW: I'm also grateful because this week we hit 7 months on the wait list. I'm grateful because we are 7 months closer to our kiddos being home than we were 7 months ago. Any day...

Amazing Grace

Last night I watched "Amazing Grace" [linked above], which is about William Wilberforce's efforts to abolish African slave trade in the late 1700s. It was an emotional, gripping, heartbreaking, and profound movie. I was captivated by the connection between the classic hymn and this man's passion to bring justice to a global travesty.

The movie captured Wilberforce's heart, journey, and challenges as he faced incomprehensible opposition from "Christian" men in English parliament to bring humanity back to the slaves and re-instate their dignity, freedom, and respect. These quotes below echo my heart...

Africa, your sufferings have been a theme that have engaged & arrested my heart. Your sufferings no tongue can express.

How can we live in houses like this when others are living in boxes?

What inspired me the most is that an ordinary man responded to the cries of those who needed freedom. He used his privilege, his power, his passion, and his belief in a Just God to bring the necessary change to the world. I wonder what the world would look like if we all said "YES!" to whatever God asks of us?!?

Unfortunately, slavery is a bigger issue now than it even was in Wilberforce's day - 200 years ago! A great organization that is making headway into solving this problem is Not For Sale. I'd encourage you to check it out. Who knows, you may be the next William Wilberforce.

Relentless Pursuit

One of the many things adoption has taught me is the parallel relationship between God's relentless pursuit of his children and our relentless pursuit of our babies. I've never felt God's love and pursuit over me like I have since we've started our adoption. Even though this process is so painful, long, and not what I expected, I would go to the ends of the earth for our babies. I would never give up on them. Everything we've done I would do all over again in order to provide them with LIFE. And yet that kind of love pales in comparison to the kind of love God has for us. It's a glimmer of how far his love has gone for us. He went to the cross. We've only gone through We're only going to Ethiopia.
Out of his inexplicable love for us, he's adopted us from being spiritually orphaned into his family. And I have found my forever family in his family because of his relentless pursuit.