The ups and downs of adoptions are very real. The emotions are all over the board for all involved. Little ones have hard times regulating, but sometimes big ones do too. And it is a bit of a be careful what you wish for type of thing. On the one hand it is our prayer that our children will become comfortable as quickly as possible and not have to be “putting on their best faces”. On the other hand, as they start to do that, behavioral issues also start to emerge.
Having a child suddenly decide to leave the store because their response to stress is flight (literally) adds some additional stress to parents who are telling kids we cannot and will not buy everything they set their eyes upon that looks like gold. It also means suddenly quadrupling the stress for one parent while the other needs to track down the flight taker. And the decisions to ignore instructions, calls, and understood requests by all of our children (including one who knows what he is and isn’t supposed to be doing in our family), all add to compounding stress. The language is already a trick for us, but when our brains can’t even process the sentence because another child is immediately demanding our attention, it certainly feels overwhelming. Thankfully God is kind with us all even when we struggle to be with one another.
We have also been reminded of a painful part of our journey. Nearly a year ago we learned that China was ending its adoption program, including for those who were already in process. We are part of 300 families who were matched and on their way to travel nearly 6 years ago and who are still left holding nothing but a few pictures and broken hearts. Our adoption agency, Lifeline, has been continuing to seek to advocate for these families and these children. At this stage it would take serious governmental intervention. We would love to ask you to join us in beseeching the Lord of all governments to move in a way that simply doesn’t seem possible at the moment. We would also love for you to check out Lifeline’s Facebook page (which is well worth a visit in any case) to see advocacy videos and how you can help in some very easy, simple steps. And, as an added bonus, if you keep your eye out, you will see one from us, that we tried to put together in the midst of being in Brazil – because we strongly believe that our other son needs to be advocated for and deserves to come home. Lifeline’s page can be accessed by this link: https://www.facebook.com/lifelinechild
Through the tears there continue to be smiles. We have seen our children initiating more conversations with us. They are also learning routines, pulling out the Portuguese/English Bible at night and the Portuguese and English Jesus Storybook Bible. They find mom’s reactions to certain things hilarious and are devouring her delicious cooking. Dad has been unexpectedly hugged and not just when someone wanted him to buy something (as before). We know some days will be very hard and others will be filled with mountain top experiences. Yet, through it all, our heavenly Father kindly carries us through each season as He continues to knit our family together.
Halfway Around the Globe 