Why????

First, an update, then my thoughts for the day. On Tues, I got an email from our coordinator. English is not her first language so as I waded through the message I took away that Alex's file was complete. His passport was waiting to be printed. As I sat back and marinaded in this, I suddenly noticed a paper clip. A paper clip next to the email. Wait a minute...an attachment. What was this?  I opened the email again. There at the bottom after multiple exchanges between my coordinator and myself was the most beautiful piece of artwork I had ever seen. It was Grace's passport!!!  This marks the end of the Haiti side of the adoption. I saved it to my phone and just kept opening it. Her name was Summers. She was really mine. She is MY daughter.  No longer do I have to call her "that little girl we are adopting". She is now,"my daughter."

With that, I began reflecting on the last two years. Two years of hurry up and wait. Two years of overwhelming joy meeting our children for the first time, and crushing sorrow as we got on a plane for home without them. There were holidays without them, birthdays without them. So many difficult times as my family was not under this roof. I was suddenly reminded of when this all started. People asked us,"Why?"  Why would we adopt?  We had three children. Two were nearly grown, one now in school. Why was our family not complete?  Why would we take this journey?  I even was asked by a close family member,"um aren't you getting a little old for this?"  

Well, the "why" is answered easily. God told us to. There were the gentle nudgings in a dream, the informant, Zachary, who said "God told him he would have a brother who was brown" a year before we started this, there was the money that showed up to the penny what we needed, all in yes, this is of God. I think the best answer to "why" is the feeling I got looking at Grace's passport. She came from another mom, she is not the same color as me and is from another corner of the world, yet she is mine. It is such a magical blessing.  I have had this same feeling with my other three and will be excited when I see Alex's passport. It makes all the delays and heartache begin to slip away.  It reminds me that all the delays were worth it and grateful God chose me to take this journey.