Sunday, March
10, 2013
GOTCHA DAY!
In a person’s life, there are only a handful of THOSE days.
Today was one of them for us.
A lot of prayer went into the preparation for today. This
journey that began with a phone call from Anne one Fall
afternoon came to its pinnacle today in a Changsha hotel room.
We prayed boldly that today would go well, but our prayers were
not bold enough for the grand plans God had in store.
At ~11am, we were standing outside the door to the hotel room
where Sam and Ellie stayed the night before after traveling to
Changsha from Xian. When the door opened, we could see the two
of them standing together at the far end of the room.
What happened next will seem fabricated. If I did not have the
video as evidence, I might start doubting it myself.
When the door opened, Ellie saw Anne. She then broke into a full
out sprint and jumped into Anne’s outstretched arms. As soon as
they embraced, Ellie yelled “Mommy!” All Anne could do was cry…
and she was not alone.
It took Sam an extra few seconds to realize what was going on…
but when he did, he also raced to the door. While his target was
different, the impact on everyone in the room was the same. My
Chinese son… having seen me live for the first time a few
moments earlier… yelled “Daddy” and jumped into my arms.
That doesn’t happen.
And what began in those early seconds has continued throughout
our first day together. They have told us in both Chinese and
English that they love us. I am sure that their comments are
trained responses… but they still feel amazing. I can tell you
that the love we feel is not rote… it is real and true. (I feel
like I should apologize to every contestant I’ve ever seen on
the Bachelor when I mocked them for “falling in love” by the
second episode. I was in love by the second minute…)
We have hugged, kissed, wrestled, and tickled. We have skipped
down the halls of the hotel while holding hands. We have jumped
on the bed and rolled on the floor. We have sung the ABCs and
“Jesus Loves Me” in English together. (Anne and I tried in vain
to follow along with the Chinese version of “Jesus Loves the
Little Children,” but it did merit some laughter.)
It hasn’t all been Normal Rockwell. I already have had urine,
spit, and vomit on me. (Note to self: I should have taken the
“Sammy gets car sick” warning a bit more seriously.) But they’re
not really your kids until you’re covered in a thin film of
their bodily excretions… so I feel like I am well on my way.
It was as close to a perfect day as I can imagine (and that
factors in that Sammy vomited a large quantity of Chinese food
onto me in the car. If you think some regional Chinese fare
smells bad when they serve it, you can only imagine the encore
performance.)
I believe a lot of people are to thank for the extravagant
blessings of today... but I would like to focus on two: Foster
Mommy and Foster Daddy. Words could never be enough to thank
their foster parents. It is strikingly obvious that Sam and
Ellie were loved. Their foster family must have loved them VERY
much… which makes their service even more selfless and beautiful
when you can tell how hard they worked to prepare Sam and Ellie
to leave them and love US.
They say that the foster mom could not even be there when they
came to take Sam and Ellie away. Not because she did not want to
be there, but because she did not want her tears to make it
harder on them.
That is a rare kind of love… the kind of love that is selfless
and unconditional. That is the kind of love we see in the person
and sacrifice of Jesus… so it is remarkable to see and be
blessed by a first-hand example. It is not surprising at all to
learn that they are Christians.
On some level, we all play some of the foster family’s role. Our
time with our children is inherently temporary. Our job is to
prepare them for their “forever family”… in this case, the
adoptive family of Christ. I hope we do as good a job as Sam and
Ellie’s foster parents… so they will recognize and run into the
arms of their heavenly Father when they see him.
Because I now know how amazing the word “Daddy” can be when you
hear it for the very first time… |
Ellie literally leaping into Anne's arms when they met. I think
the fuzziness may be the camera tearing up a bit.
Future superstars!
I'm a bad man.
Love
Lunchtime
Sam's first iPhone lesson.
Two very happy girls.
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