It had been nearly two years since God first began to burden my heart for the orphan. I was reasonably comfortable. We had four biological boys. Life was as easy as it could be w/ four little boys. :) My husband had a good job. We lived in a nice town. Etc, etc. God said I have more for you. God said I want you to adopt. I struggled and prayed "are you serious?" for about 5 months. Then in April 2008, we said yes. Yes to God's plan for our lives, not our own. Yes to adoption. Yes to a new world of people and places. And yes to maybe something not so comfortable.
One year ago today Jada Eyerusalem was placed in my arms.
What a moment of pure joy. The wait was over. She was beautiful and I was already in love. We were familiy forever.
She spent the first 9 months of her life in an orphange. I will forever be sad that I missed out on that time in her life.
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But forever grateful for the staff that loved her and for God who had plans to prosper her and not to harm her.
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Today her life looks much different. She has everything she needs.
She is an official, official (last piece of paper in this long adoption process!) US Citizen. She will have opportunites that most of the world never has.
She has four older brothers who think she is just about the greatest thing ever.
And she has a family. A mom and dad. A place where she is always safe and loved.
So, it seems that she is blessed. She was an orphan but has been adopted as our daughter. She had nothing to call her own, but now has everything that is ours. Lucky? NOT AT ALL. Chosen by God. Blessed because she is a daughter of the King, not because of anything we have done. We have learned that we are the ones who are blessed to have her. God has used her adoption to grow us. I can't think of anything else that mirrors God's love or the message of the Gospel like adoption. Grateful more than ever for being adopted into God's family and for my family. We love you Jada!! You help make us better!
So, it seems that she is blessed. She was an orphan but has been adopted as our daughter. She had nothing to call her own, but now has everything that is ours. Lucky? NOT AT ALL. Chosen by God. Blessed because she is a daughter of the King, not because of anything we have done. We have learned that we are the ones who are blessed to have her. God has used her adoption to grow us. I can't think of anything else that mirrors God's love or the message of the Gospel like adoption. Grateful more than ever for being adopted into God's family and for my family. We love you Jada!! You help make us better!
9 comments:
Happy Gotcha Day Jada! We love you so much and are so thankful you are part of our family!!
Janell, my heart SO echos everything you said. So thankful you said YES!!
What a doll- she is beautiful! So thrilled for all of you as you celebrate Jada's Gotcha Day. Precious!
Amen. It made me tear up, she looks so happy and healthy!
Love that little girl! And all you cute Rink's too! Can't believe it's been a year already. She is so blessed, as are you guys! Love ya!
I have been thinking of this wonderful home coming anniversary ... what a blessing our darling Jada is and what a blessing this whole thing has been to our whole family! God has definitely opened up our hearts to so many blessings and made us so much more aware of all the MANY who are still orphans in this world. God is so awesome to have adopted us too! We are so thankful you opened your hearts and were submissive to his will! We are so thankful for Jada...just like all our grands...it seems like she was definitely born into our family! All so natural! love you all! :)
p.s. And I forgot to mention how beautiful she is! :)
Happy Gotcha Day Jada "bug"! We love you more than u will ever know!!! Cant wait to see you guys soon. luv ya all. lyn
It is so neat to see how God has provided and made Jada a part of your family. She is such a blessing! I loved reading your post. Your last paragraph sums up everything so well!! Happy Gotcha Day, Jada!
tears...What a wonderful post, Janelle! You told it soooo well! Jada will appreciate reading this as she grows.... and hold it close to her heart. This makes me so excited to see how God is going to continue to work in Tim and Jessie's lives as they go through their adoption. This is something new for our family...and this post made me realize again that adoption, with God's leading, will truly be a blessing for us. Thank you so much for sharing us your story. Love, Gerry
OH my goodness! I am catching up on my blogs that I haven't read in forever and cannot believe how stinkin' cute Miss Jada is!!! Seriously, can't believe it's been a year. Love, love, love the family photos- those boys with her, ohhh...so darling.
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