August 9, 2013

The Lonely

*Linking with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute Friday. You have five minutes to write. Period.*

We hear people tell us how big a heart we have for having adopted. How unselfish we are and how lucky our children are to have us. 

Sometimes I try to set them straight. Sometimes I just shake my head. 

But always, I remember this…

Because we have learned to seek God’s wisdom no matter how obvious the choice may seem, when the call came that a baby girl needed a momma and a daddy, as much as our hearts thumped wildly inside of our chests, we asked for a day to pray. To ask for 24 hours was tortuous when all we wanted was to run out to get her. 

But we did. 

And we prayed. 

And as I laid face-down in the room that would eventually become the nursery, I cried out for wisdom and courage to become what I had been dreaming of becoming for several years: a mom. 

I opened my Bible to my favorite book and my eyes fell quickly on these verses:

“Father to the fatherless, defender of widows- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy” (Psalm 68:5-6, NLT).

I felt the answer wash over me.

Yes, there was a fatherless baby girl. Yes, God was lovingly caring for her life through the adoption agency. And yes, this would be our baby. But you see, the reason we are not saints with big hearts, unselfish people who just wanted to help someone is because the ones who needed most desperately to be placed in a family, the lonely ones the verses speak of…that was us, not her. 



12 comments:

Amy Tilson said...

Beautiful and understood! There is a hole that we long to have filled. We aren't the ones who are always blessing the child, the child blesses us and we are the lucky ones. Love this - she is a beauty, too!

Kate said...

What a precious blessing! Praise God for His provision. And you are so right .. we are adoptive parents as well, and it certainly doesn't make us 'saints'! Purely by the grace of God go I ... blessings on your precious family.

Fiona said...

ohhhhhh there is so much freedom in this perspective - and humility.....love it!

Kathleen Jaeger said...

ah, yes, lonely for children. God answered our heart cry in a different way but I can relate to being lonely for children, too. Love you, friend.

Krista Dowdey said...

Beautiful and so true. Thanks for sharing.

Traci Huggins said...

I sometimes cringe when people tell me I am good for taking in these children and I sometimes just laugh at the ignorance of people who don't have a clue...these children a great for accepting me as their Mom - I am truly the "lucky" one! Thank you for always being able to just simply say the way I feel :)

Jean Wise said...

This brought tears to my eyes. Lovely! Precious!

Jen said...

So beautiful! As an adoptive parent to an African American daughter who looked much like your little one when she was little...I can so relate to this heart cry of the Lord's will and His loving answer to show us our own depravity of soul through our children! May God bless this little one, keep her, and may her life be a testament to God's grace and mercy....for us! ~ Jen

Debbie said...

Yet again, I'm amazed at what God can pour out of you in five minutes.
I love your faith and even more your ability to resist the urge to lurch forward and grab something that you desperately desired without praying first. What a reward you were given, too!

(And how precious are those children of yours? I love the shot of your son in the previous post with the sunglasses too. They are both just beautiful!)

Debbie said...

Yay! It let me comment without a glitch. Things are looking up!

Rich Schelp said...

I get it. I totally get it.

Dolly@Soulstops said...

Gaby,
What an adorable picture of Isabel, and how God gave you the desire of your heart...I am so happy for you and your family :)