When Your Plans Crumble

I have a lot of feelings sitting right on the surface these days. Yesterday, for the first time during this season, I said out loud that I’m angry at God. When expectations don’t line up with our reality, it can feel really hard and I would imagine we’re all feeling at least a little bit of that these days. I felt the shame & guilt rise immediately after I uttered the words. Not because I thought the friend standing in front of me hearing them would judge me or because I think God can’t handle me being mad at Him {in fact, He’s probably quite accustomed to my big feelings by now}, but because I know there are so many people hurting right now in ways that feel bigger than ours. But I also know that I need to get it out. I need others to bear witness to my pain, my grief, my despair so that I can move through it. 

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We began this new adoption journey almost a year ago and if you recall, I laid out a few stipulations because I needed something that resembled control for this process after years of grief & loss. I needed this to be on my terms. If God had the audacity to ask me to enter this world again, then He could at least comply with my demands. One of those stipulations I laid out was that our kids had to travel with us. Colombia requires both parents spend time in-country & I was not willing to leave our American kids for the length of time required. {And if I’m absolutely honest, I never thought J would agree to spend the extra money to have them join us.} Well, J did agree and we started making plans. We worked our {not so} little tushies off to jump through all of the paperwork hoops so that we could travel this summer because that was what, in our minds, would best for both our American kids and our Colombian kids. We had it all planned out perfectly. And then a pandemic happened.

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Our expectations suddenly were no where close to our reality and that felt {still does} hard and confusing, at best. We realized that traveling in the summer was most likely not happening as Colombia continued to extend their travel ban. I won’t lie. I felt {still do} defeated. The imaginary paper that I constructed our perfectly laid out plans on began to crumble. Each piece just dissolving into thin air. I have had to remind myself over & over again that God has not stopped caring for me & my little tribe because it has felt eerily familiar to all the reasons I had for not wanting to adopt again this time last year. So we started adjusting to what it would mean to pull 4 kids out of school for almost 2 months. We began talking to their teachers. We began talking with them. And soon, we had a new, carefully constructed plan that, though it wasn’t ideal, still met my demands. 

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Soon, those new plans began to unravel more quickly than the previous ones. Now here we are with fresh heartache as we have learned that our American kids will not be able to travel with us at all. Here we are grieving, once again, how our expectations are not lining up with our reality & this one feels especially painful. Didn’t God hear me when I said I wouldn’t travel without my kids? Doesn’t he know that transition is especially hard for some of our kids? Our kids have been looking forward to this trip & having to let them down feels impossibly hard. Doesn’t God know all they have had to give up already? Due to travel already being delayed, it’s likely that we will miss some birthdays. Doesn’t God care about my kids feeling hurt & alone? We are now scrambling to figure out caretakers for our American kids while we’re gone. We are having to make contingencies for our contingencies. We are having to hold things like, what if our kids contract COVID while we’re in another country or what if their caretakers do or how will our kids’ trauma spill out on their family while we’re gone? We’re having to make impossibly difficult decisions about which parent stays in Colombia the whole time & which parent comes home after the required time. And every option feels less than adequate. We are having to make sure our affairs are in order in case we don’t come back.  My brain is on overdrive every second of every minute. And so I’m pretty mad at God right now. You can’t ask me to do this again. I told you my ground rules and you ripped them up. This just isn’t fair. You’ve crossed the line. 

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It all just feels too hard, and, if I’m honest, I’m fighting regret & doubt. The voices of despair & heartbreak threaten to overshadow the Voice of truth & Hope. And so, I have to force myself to remember. I don’t think it was a coincidence that God gave me an overwhelming amount of confirmations all those months ago. He knew I would be right here. Doubting. Regretting. Questioning. Hurting. Crying hot, angry tears. He knew I would need more than one anchor to snap me out of the lies and back to the truth & hope. The truth is, I know that God is present in every detail even though He feels very distant from it all right now. So here we are. Grieving the loss of our expectations and carefully designed plans. But we do not grieve as those without hope. We are a people who were designed to hold both the pain of suffering & loss and the joy of the triumph over death, over all the sad things. So here we are, walking that tension once again. 

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If you think about it, would you pray for us? Pray for our hearts as we navigate loss again. Pray for our kids’ hearts as they navigate loss again. And pray that all the moving pieces we now have to navigate fall into place at just the right moment and in just the right way. If I’m absolutely honest, I’ve run out of words and my legs feel wobbly. So if you think about it, we need you to help us stand once again, to remind us that Jesus has made & is making all the sad things come untrue. 

Cinnamon Rolls, Whole30, Attachments & Jesus

Tags

adoption, faith, family, international adoption, life, truth

I burned the cinnamon rolls.

The ones I didn’t get made for Christmas gifts. The ones I planned to surprise our beloved teachers with for post-holiday gifts. The ones I worked all day on. The ones that caused my back to hurt from standing on my feet, rolling out the dough, for 4 straight hours. Burned. Every single pan. Too tired, too late, too sad to make anymore. I was disappointed. Actually, I was devastated. I failed. I let people down. I didn’t measure up. I immediately wanted to devour an entire pan and lap up every delectable drop of maple icing with a spoon.

We started Whole30 just 5 days prior to the cinnamon roll fiasco. The thing I wanted most – to drown my sorrows in, to avoid feeling broken-hearted over the lies piling high in my mind, to just forget – I couldn’t do. So instead, I curled up with my head in J’s lap, and let my tears fall over burned cinnamon rolls.

In reality, they weren’t falling for burned cinnamon rolls. They were falling because the lies spinning round and round in my head were painful. I’m a screw-up. I can’t get anything right. What will they think of me {when they don’t receive the cinnamon rolls they didn’t even know that I made}? I’m a failure. And, if I chase those lies all the way down, I’m unloveable. It’s never really just about burned cinnamon rolls.

I’ve come to realize that my attachment to food had become disordered. I’ve always known that I love food. I have said for years that food is my love language. But I’ve finally realized that I use it as a reward, I use it to cope, I use it to comfort myself, and I use it to just forget for a while. I have justified this because I have been through all of the hard things, surely I deserve a giant bowl of chocolate icecream. I would tell you that Jesus is my reward, but I’d do it while spooning in another mouthful of something to take the edge off. My attachments had become disordered. I turned to food and social media and Netflix when the pain or stress or exhaustion came calling.

I decided to hit reset for the sole purpose of getting back on track with my eating habits. But I have found that my soul needed a reset, too. I decided to give up all of those disordered attachments, all at the same time, on a whim. I knew I was feeling sluggish, weary, overwhelmed, disconnected. I didn’t know how Jesus would use this to turn my affections, my gaze, my attachments back to Him. I didn’t even know they needed to be turned back.

Yesterday, we received some disappointing and anxiety-provoking news about our USCIS approval. Instead of turning to my usual fixes, I turned to Jesus, J, and my support system. I reminded myself that this is not a surprise to God and He already knows the outcome. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still really wanted a milkshake and fries. I’m not the person who just forgets their affection for sugar. But I am learning to notice and lean into the “why” more than ever before. And I’m learning to re-order my attachments under my greatest attachment of all, Jesus.

We still don’t know the outcome. We still don’t know what this means. We do know that God called us to this in very specific ways. We do know that God told a little girl in Colombia that He has a family for her and her siblings. We do know that when God gives gifts, He gives for keeps. And we do know that when we feel out of control, God never does. This is His story. May we continue to simply walk in obedience.

Help Wanted!

Tags

adoption, big family, Christian living, faith, fundraising, international adoption, life, support

I hate asking people for things, especially money. It just feels uncomfortable to me. After spending some time thinking and praying and wondering what this is about for me, I think it comes down to, “What if people don’t think I’m worth it?” That’s a question I’ve struggled with as long as I can remember. However, God has been gracious & kind to quickly remind me that this isn’t about me.

This is about the story He’s writing for 4 vulnerable kids in Colombia and for our little family.

So here I am. Asking, begging, pleading that you would partner with God and the story He’s writing. I’ve already explained how this fundraiser works on social media, but in case you’ve stumbled across this tiny piece of the internet from some other avenue, here it is again:

We would love to have all of our friends, family, acquaintances, and even those we have never met be a “piece of our puzzle” in bringing our kiddos home from Colombia. Here’s how it works:

• Pick a piece {or 2 or 27!}
• Pay the amount on the piece(s) you’ve chosen. {Click here to donate online or send checks made payable to Mercy Hill here: 3070 N. Main St. Kennesaw, GA 30144. Be sure to designate your donation to the “Sampler Adoption Fund.” Just know that approximately 3% of your online donation will go to the credit card company, but 100% of your donation will reach us if you send a check.}
• We start building {and revealing} our puzzle one piece(s) at a time. {Be sure to send us a message or comment below to let us know which piece(s) you want!} Once all of the pieces are purchased, we will reveal our beautiful puzzle that will hang on our wall as a reminder of how God used all of you to continue building our family. {It’s also a gift to our kiddos in Colombia. We would love it if you wanted to include a special note to them since we won’t be having our traditional adoption parties where you would get this opportunity.}

This is our only fundraiser. We need to raise a lot of money in a very quick timeframe and we just don’t have the time to devote to other avenues of raising support. 100% of your donation is tax-deductible, and 100% goes directly to the cost of our adoption. Your gift supports our adoption only, not a t-shirt company or a jewelry company’s expenses.

There are 500 pieces and some of you math people out there may be thinking, “That’s a lot of money!” And you’re right. Here’s what we are needing these funds for:

1. Our adoption expenses for 4 kids {agency fees, government fees, lawyer fees, travel fees, 3-4 weeks required in-country stay, translation fees, educational requirements, physicals, psychological evaluations, home study fees, immigration fees, post-adoption reports, apostille fees, etc.} will be north of $50k. These are just the fees we have to pay to be able to adopt this sibling group and bring them home.
2. There are things we need in order to prepare to bring 4 extra kids into our family. {Clothes, shoes, bedding, beds, booster seats, etc.} There are also things we need to do to our home to prepare to bring 4 extra kids into our family. {Specifically, we need to create 2 extra bedrooms + a bathroom in our basement in order to be able to accommodate everyone and not feel squished. We have the rooming situation worked out for right now, but as kids grow, it won’t be sustainable for very long.}
3. We want to be able to give to other Colombian adoptions and in-country care for vulnerable kids.

In light of these things, we have worked out a 3-phase process of sorts. The first $50k will go straight to the adoption fees listed above. The second $50k {this is an estimated total of what it will cost} will go directly to purchasing necessities and creating extra bedrooms in our home. Anything over this and anything we don’t use for these expenses will go directly to help fund other Colombian adoptions and help fund in-country care of vulnerable kids. Our church, Mercy Hill, has graciously partnered with us to be the collector and distributor of your donations. There is a 3-person committee that we will submit requests/receipts/documentation to in order to have any money distributed. We wanted to partner with them in this way for a couple of reasons: 1. We wanted your donations to be tax-deductible. 2. We wanted to have oversight of distribution because we know that money can open the door for corrupt hearts. We want the assurance for those donating and for ourselves that we are being held accountable for how this money is being spent.

Just a couple of final words. We are not walking into this expecting to sit back and let everyone else’s money fund this for us. We have wiped out our savings and retirement accounts to pay the first $10k in order to start this process. We have applied for every grant that we’re aware of and are continuing to look for other opportunities. I’m looking for free or very cheap furniture {we already scored a free dresser and daybed} and I found comforters on major discount. We are asking friends who have certain gifts to do things for us like translate files in order to lower some of those fees above. We are all in on this, literally. We’re not trying to renovate our kitchen or bathrooms, though that would be nice. We are attempting to walk this ethically, honestly, and transparently. If you have any questions about how we’re spending this money, please ask. Also, if you have a certain set of gifts or if you have any items that you would be willing to donate for any of our above needs, we would welcome those donations, too.

Thank you for taking seriously the charge to “care for widows & orphans in their distress” by partnering with us in caring for vulnerable kids.

We’re Adopting…Again!

We’ve been keeping a tiny secret.

We’re excited to announce that our application has officially been accepted for Lifeline’s Colombia program. Yes, that’s right. We’re adopting {again} and this time from Colombia!

To really understand how we landed here, let me take you back a couple of years to when we purchased Big Bertha because we heard God say, “Fill her up.”

Fast forward through a lot of sickness, heartache, loss, tears, & grief and I said that I was D.O.N.E.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when J got the word that Lifeline was asked to advocate on behalf of some sweet sibs from Colombia & we couldn’t shake God drawing our hearts towards them. And then I went to a training for professional development and heard, “Sometimes we need to do something as big as what we’ve lost.” But still. I said, “I need clarity. If this is You, show me.” So I went to sleep a little over a week ago asking, “WHO DOES THIS?!” And the next morning, He began to show me. By the end of the day, He had in fact shown me SIX specific families who “do this.” {By “do this” I mean adopt a whole lot of kids when they already have a whole lot of kids.} But I still told God I needed more clarity. And then I immediately read a quote that said, “Sometimes our prayers for more ‘clarity’ are answered with a call to closer proximity. We say ‘God show me’ and He says, ‘Go, move closer…you’ll see.” I mean. I cannot even make that up. There are 2 specific people I asked to pray for clarity. They can confirm. But I still said, “I need more.” I’m a special kind of stubborn, y’all. I woke up the next morning and while everyone was eating breakfast around the table, God whispered, “Ask them.” I didn’t even wait for J {which he was a little salty about}, I just blurted out, “What would y’all think if we added more kids to our family?” The response was immediate & resounding, “YESSSSS! That would be so fun!”

And so, with shaky hands & tears in my eyes, I said, “I hear you, Lord.” And just like that, we pressed submit on our application as a family.

We’ve already been told we’ve lost our ever-lovin’ minds. We’ve already been asked, “What happens when there’s another group of kids?” I’m terrified that the home study will declare us unfit to parent. I’m terrified that we’re ruining our kids’ lives. I’m terrified that we’ll be devastatingly hurt yet again. But then again, we’ve been here before. We’ve grown accustomed to the sideways glances and whispers behind our backs. We’ve had to continually prove our capabilities as parents for the better part of 7 years now. And our kids and our lives are not our own, anyway.

We’ve applied for every grant we know about, we’ve sold our investments, and cleaned out our savings and I couldn’t think of a greater reason. I hate asking people for things, especially money, but we’re going to need your financial {and prayer} support, too. Because we’re pursuing a specific set of sibs, we have to come up with a lot of money very quickly. We’re working on a crowdsourcing page with an organization that will {hopefully} provide a matching grant, so stay tuned dear ones! And until then, if the Lord brings us to mind, would you pray?

Jesus is Better

It’s been quite some time since I’ve written and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to share all that has happened now. But I do feel like I need to share, more for myself than anyone who may stumble across this little piece of the internet. I’m so forgetful. I need to be able to look back and see God’s goodness & faithfulness to me.
This pregnancy was my most difficult. I was very sick, all the time. Eating made me sick, no matter what I ate. Not eating made me sick. Water made me sick. I was just sick. I started trying everything I could to hurry this babe into the world at around 36 weeks because I was just that miserable & that made it very difficult to care for my tribe like they need & deserve to be cared for. But also, my delivery with Leo was traumatizing. I don’t use that word lightly. It really was traumatic for me. My anxiety would increase exponentially whenever anyone even mentioned me having another baby. So Lou came as quite a wonderful surprise. I’ve never felt so thrilled and frightened all at once in my life. As her delivery grew closer, I became more & more anxious. As much as I wanted this babe to arrive, I equally wanted to avoid the whole delivery part. I had everyone praying for a peaceful & safe delivery.
The day after her due date, I went for a check-up & was told they needed to deliver her that day. My blood pressure was high {it had been fine the entire pregnancy} and they needed to deliver for safety reasons. The midwife told me to go straight to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200. To say I was a mess is the biggest understatement of the year. I called J sobbing. He had just arrived to his campus and said he would turn around immediately. I sent out a mass text to my friends & family letting them know that we would have a baby later that day. I was an anxiety-ridden mess. I desperately did not want another c-section and I was told previously that they couldn’t induce labor because of the risks. I just kept praying for peace. Over and over and over. Ultimately, I wanted a peaceful, safe delivery. The more I talked with Jesus and our medical staff, the more peace that flooded my heart & mind. Lou came quickly and it was absolutely amazing. My very favorite delivery. It was peaceful & beautiful & perfect. Everything that I prayed for & more.
The next morning, our midwife said we could probably go home later that evening, as long as pediatrics discharged Lou. I was feeling great. Better than I had after my other two deliveries. And I wasn’t sick anymore! Hallelujah. Pass me all the food. Pediatrics wouldn’t discharge Lou until Thursday morning because they had to keep her at least 28 hours to do some testing. So we had to wait. At the time, we were disappointed. Looking back, it was a good thing because I would have never known something was wrong.
Thursday morning came, Lou was discharged, but my blood pressure kept rising. I was frustrated. I just wanted to go home. I felt absolutely fine. Then the midwife came in around 5pm and said they needed to keep me longer & give me some medicine that was going to make me feel absolutely awful in order to prevent me from having a stroke. I started bawling. I didn’t understand. Everything was great. I felt fine. I wasn’t in any pain. My vision was fine. But my blood pressure just kept rising. Nurses came in & started moving very quickly, at this point. They gave me emergency IV meds to drop my BP quickly. Then they started the meds that make you feel like you’re dying. By this point, I was very scared. I started begging God for my life. I kept telling him how my kids couldn’t handle it if I were to die. How they’ve already endured a lifetime of pain. They couldn’t bear one more hard thing. As if He didn’t know them better than I. I asked J to hold my hand and I just kept telling him that I loved him. I’m sure he thought I had lost my mind. But then Saturday came and they decided I was well enough to be discharged. I had strict instructions to monitor my BP at home and to call if it got past a certain point.
Sunday night, a little more than 24 hours after being discharged, we found ourselves back at the hospital thanks to this pesky BP of mine. They started giving me more emergency meds and started a drip of the death medicine again. I felt defeated. I told God I was ready for Heaven and I begged Him to show my kids that Jesus is better – even if mommy’s gone. Even if and when the worst happens. And that became my prayer for the next 4 days.

They kept upping meds until they had me maxed out, declaring that these protocols usually work. They brought in the cardiologist who declared my heart perfectly normal. Still, my blood pressure wouldn’t calm down. They mentioned bringing in the ICU team to try to figure this out. They vowed they would figure this out. I wasn’t so sure anymore.
I started racking my brain for people I could ask to stay with me the next week when J would have to go back to work & making plans to spend Jud’s 8th birthday in a hospital room. I kept clinging to the truth that Jesus is better and that God’s ways are perfect. I sang songs declaring God’s goodness. I meditated on Psalms. I prayed for my kids’ hearts. I prayed for J to remain faithful even in the darkness. I prayed peace over my own heart & mind. My frustration turned to resignation. My resignation turned to peace & oddly, thanksgiving.
I have always wondered how I would face adversity like this. It seems that the past few years, our lives have been turned upside down & tossed in a never-ending spin cycle. And some days, I declare God’s goodness through gritted teeth & white knuckles. This was no different. As I lay in my hospital bed, in and out of sleep, I kept saying, “God, Jesus is better. Please make me believe. I know He’s better than all this world has to offer; success, failure, health, sickness, heartache. Please make me believe.” That became the cry of my heart. Please make me believe. Over & over & over again.
Thursday morning arrived. My expectations were low by this point. Then the doctor came in & said she was discharging me. Wait. What?! I couldn’t believe it. The night before, they were talking about consulting with more doctors and trying different medications. I was so confused. And honestly, anxious. I’ve never been symptomatic. No swelling, no headaches {except what their medicine has caused}, no vision problems, no abdominal pain. If I go home where I won’t be monitored all the time, how would I know if something was wrong? But my desire to be home with the rest of our kids trumped my anxiety.

So we came home. I wasn’t sure how long it would last this time. I wasn’t sure it was entirely safe. The first few days, I would hold my breath when checking my BP. But I’ve decided to believe that God has already determined my days; therefore, I will trust in Him. He is who sustains me. My life is not my own, after all. And when my heart grows anxious & weary, I will fix my eyes on Jesus, the founder & the finisher of my faith.

 

 

*We would not have survived the past few weeks without our family, friends, and perfect strangers who have held us up in prayer, who have watched our kids, who have provided meals for us, and who came to sit with me in the hospital room. I could never offer adequate enough words to say how thankful we are for each one of you. Thank you for loving us. You helped us see Jesus during some really dark days.

A bit of News from our Tribe

Tags

family, home, life, moving, Update

I’m not entirely sure how I should start. So I’ll just jump right in. We’re moving. Yes, you read that right. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. We are, in fact, moving once again. This time, we’re moving back to a place that became home to us almost as soon as we rolled in, back to Georgia. I never imagined I would consider Georgia home, but it kind of is just that.

Part of me fears that we’re just giving up. Because life way up here close to our Canadian brothers & sisters has been a challenge. Not just the weather, as you all, if you’ve been following along, could quickly tell was not my favorite thing. But all the parts were just a challenge. It’s a different culture up here, one that we have learned we’re just not suited for. I hate that disappointment in my gut when I think we’ve failed, when I think I’ve failed. And that’s what this feels like to me: a big, fat failure. And I started walking through all the reasons we {read: I} should just suck it up & stay. Life is not guaranteed to be easy. Maybe we’re supposed to be uncomfortable & unsettled & unwelcome. Maybe we’re supposed to struggle with feelings of isolation & loneliness & depression the rest of our days. This is just silly. Why would God move us allllllll the way up here for 9 months. It makes zero sense. We’re going to look like fools. And there it was. The real reason I struggled with this decision: what will other people think of us. It’s quite funny to me that I struggle with wanting others’ approval too much & J struggles with not wanting it enough. But it’s also extremely nice when you’re husband can simply say, “Who cares? They aren’t the ones living our lives.” Those words were freeing to me.

But I was still so concerned that people would think we’re choosing a life of ease & comfort for ourselves. I mean, isn’t that what we’re doing? And then J reminded me of how difficult our home life is on a daily basis simply because we’ve chosen to bring the very brokenness of the world into our own family & embrace it as our own. And then something whispered, deep in my soul, “You let go of comfort & ease a long time ago.” And I wept at the thought of having people holding our weary arms up once again. Because this path is a difficult & treacherous one.

And so, after much prayer & deliberation, we’re moving back. Back to chic-fil-a & sunshine. Back to family & friends who love us & support us. Back to jobs we both love & are passionate about. Back home.

When you get What you have been Praying for

Tags

adoption, Christian living, faith, foster care, hope, Jesus, job loss, loss, obedience, suffering

I have so much stirring around in my heart and mind that I just had to put pen to paper to flesh it all out. I haven’t written in quite some time for several reasons. We’ve been extremely busy. Parenting alone for 8 weeks, packing, moving, adding a new kid, getting kids started at school. And those are just the big things. But I also haven’t written because I just didn’t know what to say. I needed to sit with all that has happened for a while.

 

For those who have been following along, you know J was unemployed for 18 months up until July. This job loss landed us in a small town in West Georgia and to a year of healing for our hearts. We fell in love with our new town and the more time that passed with no job on the horizon, we began to make plans to settle there. We loved our church. We loved our friends. I loved my job. We loved our life there. And then God answered our prayers for a job for J. Completely unexpected. I cannot tell you just how thrilled and devastated we were in that moment and in the days & weeks to come.

 

It’s funny how we can pray so hard & long for something and then when God finally brings forth provision, we want to scream, “BUT I DIDN’T REALLY MEAN THAT!” Maybe I’m the only brat. But that’s exactly what my heart felt. I wrestled with God. I couldn’t understand {and still don’t, honestly} how He could possibly think this was best. We wanted a job for J. BUT NOT THAT JOB. I mean, we’re practically in Canada, y’all. {Which could prove useful given the main party candidates this presidential election.} Please let me tell you exactly how to answer my request, Lord. You don’t really know what your doing. Here, let me help you.
The state of my heart is so ugly, you guys {I’m trying to embrace the North}. Like I’ve said before, God has to drag me kicking & screaming sometimes. But one thing I have learned, it’s always for my best. And my best absolutely does not equal the picture perfect American dream. What a lazy faith I would have were it so! I have learned that Jesus is better, y’all. I thought I knew this before the last few years. But I am serious when I tell you, He really is better. He is better than heartache and death and brokenness and raging kids and food stamps and accolades and success and opinions of man and cold weather and stability. He is so much better. And I needed to really deeply know this in the core of my being in order to walk through some of these days with our new little man.
The last few weeks have been incredibly difficult. Those who know our journey intimately know just how difficult some days have been and these days have been exponentially harder. We are heartbroken and frustrated and tired and embarrassed and weaker than we thought we were. I thought I was pretty strong and brave after walking through actual hell the past few years. Turns out, I’m not. And these days are even more hellish. But it’s in these moments when I realize my own limitations that I also realize how limitless our Father is. As I was sitting on the floor last night staring down the demons that torture our sweet boy, I just started claiming the victory that Christ has already won over the powers of hell. Some days, that’s all I know to do. That and cling to the promise that Jesus is so much better.

The Cost of Obedience

Tags

adoption, Christian living, faith, foster care, hope, Jesus, job loss, obedience

It’s so hard not to become jealous. You see all of these amazing things happening for your friends – amazing trips, great jobs, new business ventures, shiny new toys, sweet & precious children, nice date nights – and you are extraordinarily happy for them. And then the not so savory thoughts creep in. Why not us? We’re decent people. We do good things. We are intelligent. We seek you, Lord. We follow you, Lord. Through all the muck and mire, we still follow you. And yet here we are. J still doesn’t have a job. I barely have one. Our savings are nearly depleted. We are snippy with each other more often now. I am extremely lonely. We are scared. We have zero direction or purpose. We are exhausted. We are so exhausted. And maybe it’s because I have an infant who actually hates sleep and a toddler who wants to use the bathroom literally everywhere except the toilet. But I think it’s more because for the past 4 New Year’s beginnings, we have found ourselves thinking that the following year has to hold better things for our family because they certainly can’t get any worse. And then they inevitably get worse. And so as I sit here thinking about what the rest of this year could possibly hold for us, I’m lacking a bit of hope about the road ahead. Because the past almost 4 have held more heartache than I honestly care to re-live.

And I’m here trying to reconcile my faith with it all. I see how people look at us with our 4 kids of different colors as we pull out our Medicaid cards in the doctors’ offices. I see how people look at us when we pull out our food stamps card. I hear the tone of voice as people cock their heads to the side and declare their sympathy for us and promise to pray. I see your faces when I declare J still hasn’t found a job. I feel your pity. And it hurts. We used to be respected. Our lives were not supposed to be like this. I said I would follow you anywhere, Jesus. But I absolutely did not mean here. I told you I would adopt a bunch of babies and work as a missionary in another country. I chose how I wanted to die to myself. I told you how I would serve you. This was not it. I have followed you and it has cost me my very life.

We have been in a season in this foster care world where we have not been taking in new kids for a while now. A little over a year to be exact. For various reasons. J lost his job. I got pregnant and really sick. We moved states. And we’ve just kind of been in limbo with where we will land for a long while (I’ve learned better than to presume anywhere will be a permanent dwelling space for us). In these seasons of just focusing on the kids currently under our roof, it’s easy to lose sight of the sheer brokenness and evil we face daily. We truck along and everything is status quo and we forget that it’s still there, right below the surface, just waiting to rear it’s head again.

So you swim along, treading water, but at least still above the enormous sea. And you think your family is doing alright despite it all until suddenly you’re pulled swiftly and forcefully back under the raging waters of brokenness and evil that are always there, even if they appear quiet for a time, when you decide to care for kids from hard places. And suddenly you can’t breathe again. You kick and kick and kick and can’t seem to ever get to the top. The waves crash down on top of you, each one seemingly bigger, fiercer than the last. And you can’t get your bearings. You have lost all sense of direction. You can’t tell which way is up. So then you just fight like hell to hang on.

This world we live in is ugly, friends. I can’t describe it adequately enough for you to realize just how ugly. You see our smiling, filtered faces on social media and just think we’re all ok and we’re such a “neat” family. And sometimes, I believe we are, too. Until we’re absolutely not. I don’t let many people into the dark depths of our world. I’m afraid our family will just be too much for people because honestly, it’s too much for me some days. I want to throw my hands up, wave my tattered, white flag, and call it quits many times. It’s just too much. I didn’t agree to this. I. Want. Out. My heart is utterly broken for my kids. And by them.

They behave in ways that are terrifying and exhausting because they have been deeply, deeply hurt by people that said they loved them. They only know love that is conditional and live in a constant state of fear that they are going to do something that will cause us to leave them, too. So they lash out. They break things. They break us. All in an effort to reject us first. I wish I could describe to you the pain and trepidation in their eyes. And in my own. I wish I could describe to you the tremble in my voice when I declare our love is truly unconditional because some days it’s just not. Some days, I would pack up and run far, far away from it all, if I thought I could truly escape the overwhelming brokenness. But like I’ve said here before, I can’t un-know what I know.

And so we are living in those “some days” once again. They are all too familiar. We’ve been here many times before. But they are never easier. They still feel just as raw as the first ones. And so we keep putting one wobbly foot in front of the other. Clinging to Jesus. Clinging to each other. Clinging to dear friends who have been kind enough to enter these dark places with us and advocate to Father on our behalf when we just can’t anymore. And clinging, ever so tightly, to the sweet promise that Jesus will make all the sad things come untrue one day.

 

On raising black kids

Tags

adoption, foster care, MLKJ, racism, social justice

I was asked by a friend to write about being a white mom to black kids a while back and I thought Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was an appropriate time to finally post it. At first, I was eager to write. And then I sat down to write and I couldn’t. I didn’t know how to sum everything up in a single blog post. Not to mention, it’s a huge possibility that many of my friends and family will be offended by what I have to say and I just don’t like confrontation. So, I give you my words with trepidation. And I ask, as I speak about my family & my experiences, that you be kind in your responses. My experiences are real along with the feelings they evoked and still evoke. Please treat them with respect.

Let me begin by saying I grew up in a white, middle class, southern family. I knew black people and would have even said I had black friends. But as I sit here and recall my childhood, I can’t think of a single black person that ever entered my house. I would have guffawed at the accusation of being a racist, but black boys with sagging pants and hoodies made me wary and I would tell my friends that I was going to become the 1st white Ms. Black America because “they” would be the ones discriminating if “they” didn’t allow me to participate.

Like many of you, I thought I was ok because I didn’t actively participate in discrimination or saying racial slurs. But like I tell my kids- if you see someone being bullied, the good thing is to not participate but the better and right thing is to stand up to the bully and for the bullied.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that racism still existed. Some things you just can’t understand until you personally experience it – I would venture to say racism is one of those things. I would listen to my black friends and my friends who had black kids talk about their experiences. I listened and was aghast at some of the things they told me. But I never really understood until I experienced it myself. This is why we need to and we must listen to those who have lived this thing called racism, day in and day out. We need to take our cues from them, rather than from our own experiences and perceptions. Because as white men & women, our own experiences and perceptions are vastly different than our black friends and neighbors, I can assure you of this.

I learned just how real this difference is when I became the mom of black kids.

I will never forget the disappointed look on the man’s face when I told him our son was from Louisiana instead of Africa – like it made my son less important. Or the man on the train when he found out we adopted our son from the foster system asking, “Oh. Is he a crack baby?” Or the numerous people who ask if I’m babysitting or running a daycare- because the idea that I, as a white woman, would actually take care of these kids in any other capacity is absolutely foreign. Or the lady who only saw our son’s feet at first and just thought he had “really dirty feet.” Or how our black teenage daughter is frequently asked if our son is her kid when we are out. Or how my teenage daughter is watched more closely when we’re in stores. Or how the store clerk looked at me, with my daughter by my side, and said, “What language does she speak?” Or how my daughter, very loudly, yells “Mom!” in my direction when we are out so people know she is with me. Or how the eyes quickly dart down to my left ring finger after noticing my family. Or the pit in my stomach after a social worker told us the kids hardest to place are black boys- because black boys grow up to be black men. Or the look on my daughter’s face when a relative firmly declared that interracial marriage is wrong because it’s unfair to the kids they might have. Or the intense fire that burned in my belly as I came to my daughter’s defense. Or how sick I felt when our social worker told us that our son is classified as special needs just because he is a black male with an unknown father. Since when did the color of someone’s skin make them special needs? Or how I can never allow my black son to play with his new Nerf gun outside. Or the subtle, hesitant looks I get when I suggest my black son marry your white daughter one day. Or how the looks and comments became worse when we became parents of a black teenager, because there comes a point in society when black kids are no longer seen as cute but as trouble makers and threats.

I wish I could explain the grief and fear that seizes my body when I hear of another black person killed simply because of the color of their skin. I wish I could convey to you how I’m scared for our teenage daughter to be out without us, because someone might think she doesn’t belong. I wish I could help you to understand how I want to protect my kids from anything that could ever harm them, but I’m not quite sure how to protect them from the color of their skin. I want you to know I never imagined how fiercely I would have to fight for my children to be viewed as equals, even by family members, and how diligently I would have to guard their hearts & minds from the evil of racism. I want you to know I never imagined being verbally attacked for protecting my kids. I want you to know how keenly aware I am of our surroundings, all the time. As a white woman, I want to believe that the 9 lives lost in Charleston, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Renisha McBride, & Dajerria Becton are isolated incidents and that there are more important issues to be concerned about. But as a mom to black kids, I know they are not isolated and there are very few things you could convince me are more important than the safety of my kids.

I want you to know that as a white mom to black kids, I carry around both deep embarrassment & disappointment for my own past racial biases and extreme fear & grief over my children’s future. I want you to know that I don’t have all of the answers. I am not an expert on racial issues. I haven’t been at the racial reconciliation table for very long and I’m disappointed it has taken me this long to pull up a chair. But I am committed to staying, continuing to examine my own racial biases, listening to those who have been here a while, and giving my voice to the voiceless. I am committed to standing and working against racism wherever I see it, even if it makes me uncomfortable or unpopular. My kids have opened my eyes. It is my prayer that many more eyes will be opened to truth that I learned and many more would stand against injustice. I pray that God would raise up more black men like Dr. King and more white people to stand beside them, working together for racial reconciliation and justice.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – MLKJ

Let my losses show me all I truly have is You

Tags

Book, Christian living, Jesus, pain, sacrifice, storytelling, writing

**Many people in my life have encouraged me and prodded me along to write a book. If you were/are one of those people, thank you. I write because it is healing to me and it brings those dark spaces in my life to light which is transforming me as darkness cannot dwell where there is light. You hope as a writer (it feels weird making that self-proclamation) that your story somehow resonates with others, as well. I am grateful and humbled that mine has found that with some of you. I have decided to publish my little book here on my blog for several reasons. I will publish a chapter each month. With that being said, I humbly give you my introduction.**

I am the baby of the family. Not only the baby, but the baby girl. To say I was (am) spoiled would be an incredible understatement. I get my way. And when I don’t, oh man. I invented pouting, dear ones. If it were an Olympic sport, I would gold medal every.single.time.

I had this picture of how my life would be. I was going to have 6 kids, 3 biologically & 3 adopted. I was going to be married right after I graduated college. And we were going to be missionaries in Indonesia. Sounds lovely, right? And then God started messing with my lovely plan. And I have had to learn that God doesn’t much care that I’m the baby girl and supposed to get my way. I have also learned that I’m not a very quick learner. I still pout and stomp my foot and demand God do things my way or else. And when that doesn’t work, I just flat out say, “No.” Besides, I was going to adopt babies! And move to another country! All for You, God! Don’t You see? I’m doing ALL OF THIS SACRIFICING FOR YOU. Just leave me alone and let me do it.

I told y’all. I am the Michael Phelps of pouting.

I’m not quite sure how God has put up with me this long. Honestly. We have had a teenage daughter for 3 months and I have wanted to feed her to the wolves only about 56778 times because she likes to get her way all the time too. Whew. God has His work cut out for Him with me.

This book is my humble offering of my story. It’s not anything spectacular. I wasn’t a meth-head hardened criminal. But this is my redemption story. I don’t have life all figured out. I can’t give you 3 easy steps to an awesome life. My story is not my own and it is not complete. My story is wrought with pain and sacrifice and beauty and redemption and truth. What I do have to offer is Jesus. And Jesus brings hope. Because one day, He will make all the sad things come untrue (Jesus Storybook Bible). One day, all the pain and heartache and messiness will be worth it. Because Jesus is our reward. And Jesus is always worth it.

Thank you for coming along on this beautiful, messy, chaotic journey that God has led me on, sometimes kicking & screaming.