He is Home

How do you take the over brimming of joy from a heart and possibly put it in black and white print? I know others are gifted to do just that. I struggle with it. The deeper, stronger the emotions, the harder time I have expressing them with words.

Most of you are at least somewhat aware of the story of Yul's adoption. We had just brought Maddie home from Bulgaria when I saw his picture on Facebook. He was part of a summer hosting program. My heart was tugged immediately, but no. No, it wasn't possible for us to host. You don't host an orphan with a brand new child at home. That's not logical. It was probably irresponsible.  Besides, the idea of hosting and not being able to adopt? That would be heartbreaking.

Of course, you know we DID commit to host. How could we not? It was an hour before the deadline for kids to be chosen. We sat there on our bed, Adam and I, knowing we were his only option. We couldn't say no. We said yes. I gulped hard. Lord, help me. How will I care for a child for 6 weeks and send him back. We don't qualify for a Chinese adoption. What if we can't find a family for him?

The moment I saw him in person, I knew. He wrapped himself around me in a full body hug. I immediately burst into tears. I loved him at that instant. Adam felt the same. We had to pray for God to move mountains for us, because this precious little boy belonged with us. Those 6 weeks were wonderful and yet his departure date loomed. The closer it came, the harder it was. The day we said goodbye, we grieved deeply as a family. We had no idea if we would ever see him again. We prayed earnestly "Please Lord, please make a way".

We started the paper chase immediately. Our agency required us to be Homestudy approved before submitting to China for pre approval. This was a significant financial risk, not to mention the even greater emotional limbo. We pressed forward.  We couldn't even think about how we would possibly finance the adoption.

Meanwhile, there was this amazing miracle forming behind-the-scenes, which is spelled out here. This wonderful story was being knitted together, a tapestry of beautiful people that God was bringing together to do something unbelievable. The thread connecting all of them is the remarkable Elizabeth DeHority, a woman I am so honored to call my friend. My dear friend Julia Nalle connected Elizabeth and I. Elizabeth asked her dear friend Kelle Hampton for help here. The weekend of the Big Giveaway, Elizabeth's other dear friend Ann Voskamp shared on her blog. One of my fondest memories will be watching that grant fund leaping as quickly as I could hit refresh into the late hours that Saturday night, FB  messaging Ann and Elizabeth giddy with amazement!  It was truly miraculous. People responding to God's nudge. All those donations, big and small quickly added up to a huge number, one that seemed impossible, especially in the timeframe. Fully Funded.

Fully Funded. By all of YOU. Every single person that donated, no matter how big or small, YOU did it! You participated in a miracle! You are part of the beautiful picture of Yul's story, woven together with Elizabeth's story, and it was indescribable. I am still in awe. I thank each of you. Thank you. It's sounds perfectly inadequate. I hope you can somehow see in my love for my son, in the joy of his homecoming, how utterly grateful we are. There truly aren't words.