Friday, November 23

Be Still My Heart

But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy. Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.
His name is the LORD—
rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families...
Psalm 68:3-6 NLT

I, like many adoptive families and Christians alike have read this in Psalm passage over and over.
We have proclaimed it.
Stood on it.
Memorized it.
Prayed over it.
And have found comfort in it.
Tonight, these words on these pages in my bible have come to LIFE. They are not just words.
They are truth.
They breathe life.
They are promises that I have seen be fulfilled and continue to be fulfilled.
They birthed a new emotion in my soul.
As I shift through the visions and memories the last two days have held, my chest burns with immeasurable gratitude.
A deep thankfulness.
A familiar joy. A joy comparable to the joy I felt as I stepped out of that plane in Texas with Emme last January.

I have stood in the presence of The Lord this week. I have been able to do nothing but rejoice in Him.
He who is Faithful.
True to his word.
He who is just.
He who is alive.
I can count how many times in my life where my heart has stood still. Where I could feel the tangible essence of God's presence. Where I have experienced joy and gladness that is breath taking. This week, my breath has been taken away yet again by the ONE who sets the lonely in homes.

On Monday we left our house to embark on a journey of a lifetime.

Last February I received a message on Facebook from a girl in Illinois telling me that they were in the process of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia and that they believed he was/is Emme's brother. My teeth nearly hit the keyboard! She gave me her email and left the ball in my court to communicate or not. I immediately sent her an email!!!! Of course I wanted to talk!!
Turns out... He is indeed our little Emme's brother! We have been in constant communication ever since. We have been able to pray with them and for them over the last few months. We have been able to form a very special friendship.
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to reunited the kids. It is dear to all of our hearts that they know each other and be in contact with one another. After much prayer, we decided that it was better for us to reunite them now while they are little rather then waiting until they are young adults.
Personally I didn't want to rob them of childhood memories together. Despite them living in Illinois and us in Texas, the fact that the kids are in the STATES is a blessing and we are all willing to do whatever it takes to help them form their own unique sibling bond!

God orchestrated the most beautiful reconnection! I feel incredibly honored and blessed to be apart of these two precious kids lives.
To be apart or their story.
I feel blessed to be their family.
I feel blessed that because of them, we have NEW family!
New beautiful and precious family.

On Tuesday, we took the drive from Dallas to Murphy Texas to reunited Emme and Amenti. I am convinced the butterflies that were welling up in my stomach could have carried me the entire 14 miles that were lying between us. That afternoon as we drove to meet them, I kept staring in the side mirror thinking "This cannot be real. This cannot be happening. God is so good! Too good really! God Thank You for your goodness! For your promise to redeem and restore! Thank you for allowing us to be apart of this amazing story you are writing! A story of redemption. A testimony of God fulfilling the promise of setting the lonely in homes!"
As we continued to drive down the freeway my heart sang songs of praise to our faithful Father. I prayed for Emme's heart. For her to remember and for her to accept. I wasn't really sure what her reaction might have been. But I knew we were walking in a path that only God could have set our feet upon. And He was present in these tender moments.
At first sight of one another it was awkward. Ha! He wasn't sure what to do or say and she just snuggled in tight against my shoulder and tucked her little chin into her chest while she twisted and pulled on her curls.
The look on her face took me back to Africa. To a time with my sweet girl that was so tender and raw. A time where she was consumed with fear and uncertainty. I quickly reassured her that all was fine. Amenti sheepishly said hello and scurried off to continue a game of soccer with the boys. I'm sure what made it awkward for them was all of us adults staring at them awaiting their reaction. I think Emily (Amenti's mom) and I silently evaluated the situation and agreed to just let it flow naturally. Her and I escorted Emme upstairs to play with Barbies. Emme loves Barbies. Phillip and Steve (Amenti's dad) stayed outside with the guys. After a few minutes Emme was ready to go back out. We decided to take them all the to the park that was a couple of blocks away. As we walked to the park something between Emme and Amenti clicked. A bond began to form. The moment I could see the familiar feelings come back to them was when they sat by one another and sipped from their juice boxes. Us mom's held our breathe in excitement and sighed with heart felt "awes".  Within minutes they were chasing each other and playing tag! They chased each other for a long while. Their laughter and joy brought tears to my eyes and JOY to my heart.
I have never seen Emme shine with so much JOY. She glowed. She was proud. Something in her came to life.
At dinner she would lay her head of his shoulder, she would scoot closer and closer to him. She gently scratched his back and just wanted to be near him. Seeing them hug and look at each other with endearment took my breath away and my heart stood still.
These moments.
These memories.
They will be forever etched in this mommas heart.

Today I am thankful that God moved us.
He moved our hearts.
And I am thankful that we said Yes.
I am thankful for others, like the Hauter's, who have been moved to meet His need of setting the lonely in homes. And who also said Yes.
Emme's brother - Amenti - is orphan no more.
I am thankful for this precious opportunity to reunited two of God's precious children. To see them grow and to know and love Him, The Father who has so delicately orchestrates their steps.
I am thankful for our new family that God has given us. It is truly and amazing gift.
And how fitting that this fell into place the week of Thanksgiving.
What a memorable Thanksgiving.
Family. Its's the sweetest thing. 

6 comments:

  1. Okay, some how I missed the blog switch??! Glad to find you again. :)

    This post is absolutely precious! What are the chances of this all happening?!!!! You can definitely see God's hand at work here. What an amazing story.

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  2. P.S. LOVE the new design. Now I want to get my blog done . . .

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  3. This is SUCH a cool story! Praise God! I found it via Emily's facebook post and cried my way through it. (I know Emily from church and school growing up) I went on reading your blog, relating with several stories (adoption, homeschooling, having a sweet 6 year old and wondering if we should track him with the kindergarteners or the 1st graders, etc) And then I got to the Korah part! My husband and I were just in Ethiopia for our first trip to meet our daughter last month and of course fell in love with Korah during our visit there. I have at least one Korah post on my blog. Anyway, what really prompted me to write is that I met your friend Wynne while we were there. It was a quick meeting at the guest house but I was amazed when I saw her on your blog! Hope their transition is going well also! Maybe Ill meet you there one day too?! Doesn't sound like any of us have any plans to stay away:) Blessings!

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  4. Such an incredible story! I am Emily's sister and have been praying for your family since day one :) Thank you for sharing this!!!

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