Thursday, April 21, 2011

Praying For our Adoption: Hello & Goodbye

It's been like a 18 month pregnancy without having a due date till the 17th month.  We have known we would have a 2nd child in our family since September, 2009.  We've known it's a boy and his name since August 2010.

We pray for him daily, wonder about him regularly, and anticipate having him sleep in the room across from us nightly.

This first trip contains a significant beginning and ending that will be a gigantic ball of emotions.

The first time we meet our 21 month old son.  We have no idea to what level he's been prepped for our coming or who we are.  We know he has a little scrap book that contains several pictures of us and other loved ones.  Yet there's a whirlwind (I use that word a lot in correlation with this process) of thoughts, questions, and emotions as we walk into that moment.
Will he be scared of us?
Will he recognize us from the pictures?
Will we recognize him from the other babies at the Care Center?
Will he, as we've been praying may supernaturally happen, know right away that we are his mommy and daddy?

More than any other emotion, anticipation is at the top of this moment for us.  Please pray that God will present in that room when he hug, hold, talk... simply spend time with our son for the first time on Tuesday, April 27 (really, really early a.m. for you here in the States).

The ending is the different story.  He won't come home with us this trip.  We will be returning to the States for 2-4 weeks (hopefully no longer) before heading back to do the final steps in Uganda to get him home.   Our last moment with him this trip will be Friday, April 29... almost immediately after receiving custodial permission from the Ugandan court.

I remember the moment Katylynn's birth mom brought her to us and left the hospital.  Our greatest moment of joy was contrasted with Emily's greatest moment of pain.  I'm learning joy and pain colliding together can be a common theme in adoption.

Pray for this moment, that we will have holy angels surrounding and ministering to us as well as our son as we have to say goodbye to each other for just a little bit longer.  Ugh, even typing it messes with me.

1 comment:

derryprenkert said...

Awesome Shelley. Thanks.