Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live... John 11:25
Friday, April 19, 2013
Little details
I pore over the details in her file and look at the two pictures. Her file says she has a "baba" and responds well to touch; I pray that this is preparing her to have a family. Her file says she can't interact with other children given her condition. I get the feeling that she has never been given a chance.
She can hold a toy for a short amount of time... This gives me hope; maybe she isn't totally sensorily deprived? She is learning to eat from a spoon... This is also very good, though there is no discussion of what eating issues she has. I am sure we will be seeing an eating OT when she gets home. I am praying that she will be good at eating (or learning to eat) and that we won't have to do a g-tube or an ng tube, but I have no way of guessing what will actually happen until I get to see her in person.
She appears to have the thickest head of hair! It is amazing, given her extremely low level of nutrition. I am looking forward to letting those dark curls get a little longer!
All of our info is almost a year old, so there is a lot we don't know. I pray that she has progressed, that her baba gives her lots of good contact and input, and that her nutrition is improved. Please join me in asking our great God to protect and preserve our little girl!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A post from Penny's mom
The above address will take you to a great blog post about an urgent situation at Garnet and Penny's orphanage.
Go look, and pray!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Reece's Rainbow
Every time I learn that I have gotten someone hooked on Reece's Rainbow I get very excited.
It was where we originally saw Garnet's picture, and there are so many others that need families!
It's linked on my sidebar, and if you click *here* you can get to the newly listed children page. Go look at the kids! Pick one out and pray! You never know how God will use you!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
Expectations
When I was young, I always tried to imagine what being a "grown-up" would be like. It got a lot easier, I thought, when I met my husband at 15. By the time I was 17, I was sure he was the one. I would daydream about what married life would be like; what it would be like to spend my days with my best friend.
I have a pretty good imagination.
But boy was I ever wrong! It turns out you can't imagine a new relationship. It is too multidimensional and there are too many variables. I didn't really know myself or my future husband. We have been married for nearly 6 years, and it has been nothing like my premarital imaginations. It is SO much more complicated, and SO much better. I am glad my foolish teenage daydreams were only that!
It was a little easier to imagine what it would be like to be a mom; after all, I am the oldest of 8 children and I had a bit of experience with babies. My imagination was more cautious this time; I knew there were a lot of things I didn't know. There was no way I could have predicted what it felt like to hold your very own child, or how intense the love of a mother is. Those things are not like being a big sister!
Now as we look forward to bringing Garnet home (and spending the rest of our lives with her), my imagination wants to do it again. It is informed by the experiences of others, by a few words and photos. I know what it is like to love my son, but I have a feeling that this will be different. There is a lot of uncertainty, even more than when I was contemplating marriage or the delivery of our son. Will she like us? Will she be terrified? Will she sleep well? Will she be able to eat at all? How big will she actually be? What will it be like to hold her in my arms? I don't know the answer to any of these questions. I don't know if she will welcome a relationship with us. I am a mom, but I have never been a mom to someone who has not had a mom for over a decade! There is a lot that I simply can't imagine.
I think that's a good thing. If I had known how hard marriage would be beforehand, I might have chickened out. I might have ignored all the awesome stuff because the hard things seemed like too much. Same with becoming a mom. I am pretty sure that if I had known all the hard things that would happen before I conceived, I would have tried pretty hard to avoid that, too!
So, we know what we need to know. When we need to know more, we will learn more. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, and also that all things work together for the good of those who love Him.
I have a hunch that this will be the hardest thing we have done yet, but that it will also bring us closer to Jesus than ever before. That is worth any amount of "hard"!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Mulligan Stew
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
You should just read Blessing of Verity
Susanna, who blogs at The Blessing of Verity (it's linked on my sidebar), is the one who inspired me to adopt from this orphanage in the first place.
Her little girl, Katie, is in a little bit of a different situation than Garnet because her special need is Down Syndrome, not CP. However, it is still incredible to see this once miserable and skeletal little girl with a big smile on her face, LEARNING TO WALK!
I know that because of Garnet's special needs her development will be different from Katie's, and we definitely aren't expecting her to walk, but it is good to know what a difference the love of a family and good care makes in the life of even the most damaged child.
So, if you haven't already, go read about Katie. She is too cute.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Resurrection!
Given the title of this blog, it would have made a lot of sense for me to schedule a post like this for Easter. I didn't, so you will have to be content with a "Happy Monday" resurrection post.
The resurrection that I am talking about is the resurrection of Christ Himself. Why is it so important?
God uses Paul to tell us in 1 Corinthians 15. If the resurrection of Christ is not a reality, then our faith is futile! We are still in our sins! Paul goes even further: "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."
If you think "it's nice that Christians have these lofty ideas to think about to get them through the hard times", then you are wrong! Paul says if the resurrection isn't real, then Christians are stupid! They are wasting their time!
If you are a Christian, do you REALLY believe it? Are you ready to affirm that God has conquered death, and that He completed the destruction of death with the resurrection of His Son?
Are you ready to live with an eternal perspective, knowing that we can follow God at the cost of all, because He gave it all for us?
I am not altruistic. I can't do hard and selfless things because they are hard and selfless, or because there is somehow inherent value in denying myself. However, if, in the course of following my risen Savior, I am called to deny myself (and I am; you will be too, if you follow Him) I can do it through His strength, to God's glory. That is a tangible goal, friend. It is what we were created to do; glorify God in everything we do!
And, in God's glorious economy, what glorifies Him is also for the good and glory of those who love Him!
Christian, you are united to Christ!
We love because He first loved us, we live because He lives.
ALLELUIA!
Hidden Treasures!
Another Hidden Treasures auction started today! This auction is for a family that is bringing home THREE sweet kids from Garnet's orphanage!
Go check it out! It will run until next Sunday night, I believe.