Today at lunch Amanda had a minor melt down. We all understand and can relate. This whole thing is emotionally exhausting. We were very excited to get Luke, and we went through a very hard first day together, and now we have come down to normal life. Except it isn't normal life. We aren't sleeping in our own beds. We aren't sure we can handle one more Chinese restaurant, and we are constantly on someone else's schedule.
Yesterday we learned from Luke's nanny that he doesn't speak Chinese. He only knows a couple of words. We learned on the first day that he is not potty trained. This plants a little question in the back of my mind. What else were we not told? Don't misunderstand me, he is a wonderful boy, full of joy and we would never give him back. But I had prepared myself to deal with certain things, and now I don't know what I should be prepared to deal with. I don't know if his lack of speech is a cleft issue or a hearing issue or just a lack of interaction at the orphanage? He is clearly an intelligent little guy. Developmentally I think he is on track in many areas. I guess I struggle with the unknown. How many surgeries are ahead for him for his palate and leg? How will he bond with us? All things that I can do nothing about and will have to leave in the hands of God.
The Bible is full of emphasis that God's heart is with the orphan, the widow, the foreigner and the poor. For instance Deuteronomy 10 says,"The LORD defends the rights of orphans and widows. He cares for foreigners and gives them food and clothing." Deut. 14 says, "You must give food to the poor who live in your town, including orphans, widows, and foreigners. If they have enough to eat, then the LORD your God will be pleased and make you successful in everything you do." What this says to me is that when I involve myself in things that are important to God he will take care of the details.
So, I told Amanda I understand how she is feeling. There are parts of this that are affecting us in ways that we don't fully understand. We are full of joy, and full of change, and full of questions. We are full in a different way of staying in hotels, and eating out, and etc. But at the same time we are full of God's presence. We can sense that he is pleased. One of his children has a family who pledge to teach that child about him. Yesterday, we had to pledge before the government official that we would never abandon this little boy again. We say enthusiastically that we did promise. At the same time I thought of a verse that says, "If you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will God..." Yes, how much more will God take care of and never abandon us?
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2 comments:
I was adopted. All I ever wanted was a sister. I was 11 when we adopted my 9-yr old sister and after a week or so, I was so distraught with the situation and the sister who didn't live up to my expectations my Mom told me I could send her back, it was up to me. I really wanted to but of course we kept her and I love her dearly. We also adopted a brother a couple years later, he was three. Hearing of your adventure reminded me of his first days with us, the bathroom issues, etc. My prayers are with you, even with children from USA adoption is a challenge. God bless.
My favorite story was written by Amanda. Thank you, Amanda.
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