Love…appropriate title for a blog post now, right? I thought so. :-) Love…a word with so much meaning behind it. So many ways to show it, to love, and to be loved. The word that I am choosing to use this day to define love is sacrifice. Anyone in any kind of relationship (parent/child, marriage, friendship, co-worker) knows that it isn’t always easy to love others. Oh, it can be…and can be lots of fun and very rewarding, but it can also be lots of work and sacrifice. That is where I find myself today.
Russ said to me the other day, “Rachel, just think about how our parenting in love can be such a reflection of God’s love for us and for our children.” Sounds great…and it is, but the reality of it is that it is not always easy. And in our current state, it is oftentimes not easy. Parenting in general is a tough enough job, but add in a child whose been parented (or not parented) for 9 years and love just got tougher! See, our little mans deepest desire is no different than any of our own…to know and feel loved, to feel desired, to feel wanted. I believe this is a God given desire. We were created in the image of God with this need. In a perfect world, we would all have those desires met. Many of us have. I’m not certain our little man has. And with that comes lots of pain, lots of sadness, and lots of anger. Some of the simplest of interactions can turn into a raging storm inside little mans head. And they can come at any time, over something seemingly simple. I’ll be honest. It isn’t always easy to love him in those moments! But if I’m honest with myself, I have those moments too…and I’m sure those who know and love me would say I’m not always easy to love either!
Scripture is flooded with verses about God’s love by sacrificing His son for us. Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son….” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave His only son” Romans 5: 8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Love = sacrifice. I am beginning to understand this in a whole new light. For that I am thankful…..even in the tough times.
In closing, I would love to share a specific prayer request on behalf of our family. February 22, 2015 marks the 6 month date of when little man moved in. After this date, we can then petition the court seeking adoption of him. This is both his and our desire. We meet Friday Feb. 27 with his adoption specialist to sign the paperwork. We have been told that it is just a matter of procedure after this point and we should expect about 2-3 months of waiting before making things final in the courtroom before a judge. Please join us in praying that all goes smoothly and we can finalize the adoption soon!!!
