Living between 2 Countries

It was 10:30pm and we landed in Austin, Texas. Another trip there and back. Exhausted.

I make my way around the gates and Stew goes ahead of me to get the car. I find myself imagining again...like I always do as I arrive back in Austin.

Imagining when my hands will have more than bags and my heart will be full with more than tears. I imagine the day when our son will come home and we will round the corner and head to baggage claim ending the life between two countries. It is the same thought each trip.

I come down the escalator and notice a group of folks waiting at the bottom. Turns out some kids are coming home from the Ukraine. Wow! Their life between 2 countries is ending..the very moment I imagine often in my mind. The Lord is gracious to give Hope as we often see others coming home when ours is not.

I realize as I wait for my baggage and watch the joy of others, today is just not the day. Kelly Josiah is not coming home today. We must continue to wait.

We just returned from Port au Prince, Haiti. It is our 6th trip. Traveling every 3 months between our children here and child there has become a new normal. Waiting has been a learned thing.

I am actually thankful for the things that each trip teaches us. We have gotten to know so many beautiful families!! I am honored to learn from another country apart from my own. Each time I enter Haiti, I feel closer to it and understand that is is a part of our family now b/c it is the culture of our son. I view it differently than if I were visiting some country for the first time, only to learn and walk away back to my own. I will never walk away from Haiti. It is a part of us now.

We got to meet Kelly Josiah's birth mom this trip. I was scared. I was nervous. Would I be good enough for her? Would Kelly wish to be back with her? Would his mother want him back? What to expect? I had too many thoughts.

She arrived about 4 hours late....typical Haitian time. =) But I was given courage that did not come from my own strength. I walked up to her and pointed Kelly out. She smiled. I gave her a hug. Kelly does not remember her well and would not go to her. I felt pain for her. She smiled bravely and patted Kelly on the shoulder not forcing him to go to her.

We went upstairs for lunch. This was a very strong woman. She was very articulate and knew why she came. She told us that many in her village had told her that she would never hear from us again once Kelly was in America. She said she wanted us to see her face so that we would not forget her and ask that we send her pictures. We told her with great joy that we would absolutely keep in touch.

We asked her questions about kelly's birth and life before we knew him. She told us stories. She helped us to see that Kelly was her favorite son, b/c of his disability. She told us that she knows God has a great purpose for his life. We agreed with her and shared about the things we believed and had seen in him already.

Then, I had to ask her. "Is this what you want for him? or do you wish to parent him?" With no hesitation she said she chose this for his life. And she proceeded to petition us to raise him for the purpose he was intended. I asked again, "Are you sure...this is your choice and not someone else's?" She confirmed it was her decision. She loved him so much that she chose this for him.

I am learning that the world is not lived through the grid in which I often see things. She did not give him to adoption b/c she did not love him, but B/c she loved him, she gave him to adoption.

I am constantly learning between my 2 countries. They each effect each other and I travel between them with so many lessons and some opportunities to apply them.

I know one day it will not be like this. But I am trusting that our lives will never be the same because of this journey.

We are learning to take the gifts in our waiting and living. This trip gave us a precious gift of a woman....a mother....who loved her son. It gave a new motivation to pursue and love Kelly bravely.

Before she left I was able, with many tears-she and I, to look her in the face and tell her that we would love her son as our own. That she would not have to worry. That together...she and I would mother Kelly Josiah to the purpose God intended for his life.

Waiting until our next trip...trying to apply here what I am learning there...