Fearless

July 4, 2014 – a Friday. Happy Day! Big O, the boys and I headed downtown to watch our community’s annual 4^th of July parade yesterday. They both seemed to have a nice time watching the different floats and groups of people pass by. It did not hurt that some of the participants threw candy to the kids, as well. At one point during the procession, I noticed a large group of people marching by holding a multitude of flags from many countries around the world. I told my husband, “I do not even know what the Ugandan flag looks like.” He did not know either. Then I stood there thinking, “Will she understand the 4^th of July?  Can I dress her in red, white and blue? I guess we can learn about her country and celebrate those kinds of things too. Will she feel comfortable here? Will she be able to relate to us since we are so different on the outside?”

These kinds of questions attempted a slow take-over in my mind. I attempted to beat them down with a large, mental stick. Upon getting home, I announced to our boys that we need to find out what sister’s country’s flag looks like. We quickly found a picture of the beautiful flag of Uganda on the internet. It has an intriguing picture of a crane in the middle of it and has three colors, red, black and yellow. It is quite lovely.

Questions such as the ones above have occurred to me before. This is one reason that Olaf and I are taking online adoption courses, as well as reading several books and asking lots of questions to those who have been down this road before and to our adoption agent. We know that successful adoptions – the ones where both the child and the family have successfully bonded with one another – occur when the parents have prepared and trained themselves for what is to come via trainings, reading material, etc. We cannot predict how smoothly everything will go or how soon our little girl will feel safe in our arms, but we are doing our best at this moment to help her, our boys, and ourselves grow into a healthy, loving family.

If I could say anything to other family’s considering adoption it would be this – Do Not Fear. I would hate to live my life in fear of the what-if’s. For this reason, whenever Olaf and I get a feeling, or an inclination that God wants us to do something, we pray about it. (If you do not have a relationship with God, this may not help you out.) We are clearly called to care for one another, specifically the orphans and widows (James 1:27). While it is a lovely sentiment, this comes with a lot of preparation. It is a humbling experience and by all means takes a lot of work. As any good parent knows, there is no “part time” when it comes to parenting. However, because we believe that He has called us to adopt one of His children, it makes us want her even more. This was His plan; we are just following the map. And, He knows how we love an adventure!

So, we are attacking those scary questions that may creep up at night with faith and solid preparation! We love her already – hard to believe, but Oh So True! We talk about “sister” every day and I pray for her at least twice a day, if not more. However, I challenge everyone to seriously consider taking on that next challenge in your life, whatever it may be. If it is part of your story, it will surely come to pass. However, use this time to strengthen your faith and prepare yourself for that next journey. Have no fear. We serve a big God.