One Less

My heart is aching.  It's aching for the children who don't have a families.  I believe that December is one of the worst months to have to endure when you are a child and you don't have a Mom and Dad....a FAMILY....to call your own.  These children do not sit around wishing for the latest PlayStation game or a cell phone or even an MP3 player......these kids just want to be special to someone.....to have a family.....to be CHOSEN.


I think of my son who is still in Ethiopia right now.  He could still be one of the many children in our agency's care center without a family this Christmas.  My son now has a smile in his heart, something to think about and dream of.  He now knows that very soon, he will not be alone any more....he will be surrounded by a family that loves him, a family that is very excited that HE will be joining THEM.  

HE has been CHOSEN....and HE is LOVED.

There is ONE LESS child longing for a family this Christmas.

I heard that when our son "Z" was told that we had CHOSEN..... HIM....his smile went from ear to ear and I keep hearing that this smile hasn't left his face yet.  This smile also traveled from his face, down into his heart.  He was so excited to learn that we couldn't leave him behind....and that we wanted him to be with us FOREVER... so excited....that he didn't even wait for the welcome bag that we were sending him to start writing us letters!  He also takes every opportunity to lead someone over to the map to proudly show them where HIS family lives and where HE will soon be living.  It is an extra blessing that we were able to spend time with him while we were there so he knows who we are...and he also has the comfort of having Tihun over there too.


There was a boy, that USED to be alone, but now he has a FAMILY across the ocean and a SISTER that is right there with him that he can spend time with and LOVE.....

He is not alone anymore.......and his heart is exploding with JOY this Christmas!

This is an excerpt from a blog of a friend of mine and fellow AAI adoptive parent, Rachael, whose heart is right where mine is this Christmas:
I am continually frustrated with the non-existent pedestal that some choose to place us on because "we adopted." We hear over and over how someone would love to adopt, and oh how wonderful it is that we gave a child a home and saying, "You guys are incredible." But we are not. We are not super heroes, we are not extra-ordinary people. We are not extra-spiritual, and we do not experience any more love and grace in our lives than the next Christian. We are surrounded by incredibly supportive and passionate family and friends who understand the joy of adoption. We simply just said "yes." That's it. It was that simple. God did not "make" Jon and me for adoption. He simply chose us first, and in His choosing, we said yes.  Adoption can't be sought merely for compassion's sake or for a massive tug on your heart strings, or because you think it will be all rainbows and unicorns, because it's not. It's more than that. My mind replays the words "chosen,"  and being "bought with a price" in relation to Jesus choosing me!
**Thanks Rachael, for letting me borrow this beautiful piece of your heart!  Please visit Rachael's blog to read her whole post!  =)  


I will leave you with one more story and a song.....

One Less by Matthew West (The Story Behind The Song) from emicmg on Vimeo.




Have a peaceful Sunday....and if you think about it, say a prayer for these waiting children.  God may not be calling YOU to adopt but there are still many ways to being involved and help out.  Prayer is one of them....