Adoption Joy
December 24, 2012
Blink. That’s what I did and 2012 is already coming
to a close. How does that happen? As fast as each year continues to fly by….
this year by far is the fastest. 2012 started out with the best news ever at
the end of January as we finally got the LONG awaited phone call that we had received
approval to bring Bella HOME! I
knew what that meant. It was time to whirl around and start getting my head and
heart ready to travel to a far away land. So much to do! In February the Indian
Courts granted us custody of Bella. We then just had to wait on her passport to
be processed in India and we could travel to pick her up in just a few short weeks. Time was just whipping by as I was
grappling at the clock arms to slow them a bit to get everything in order. And
sadly they did. March came and went and still, no passport. Hearts sinking we
wondered if we’d be in a similar situation as last summer with more long and
unexpected waiting.
But finally on April 12th we got word
that the passport had arrived and it was time to travel and that painful 4-year
wait would finally come to an end. So, on April 22nd of this year,
Jeff, Jonah and myself all boarded a plane and traveled across the world into a
foreign land. After 2 full days and 5 flights, ending with a tiny prop plane
that finally landed us on a small airstrip in the middle of mountains, jungles
and rivers (a scene you only see on National Geographic), followed by a 2-hour
car trip, winding up a mountain on a narrow one lane road through breathtaking
jungles, waterfalls, and bamboo huts, we arrived. Normally, this kind of trip
would have had me heaving my insides. But I was just too excited to be carsick.
Our eyes just could not believe what we were beholding. We were on the other side of the world
gazing at a little town mixed with both beauty and poverty on terrain that
seemed totally surreal. And this….this was the place our daughter awaited us.
Full of adrenaline at this point and with only
about 2 hours of sleep, we could not wait to lay eyes on the one that the LORD
had chosen for us to call our own. Walking down a steep flight of stairs on the
side of a mountain we turned the corner into a little orphanage and there as we
stepped foot in, peeked a little beautiful big brown-eyed girl with just as
much anticipation to meet us. There are no words to describe that moment.
Locking eyes, arms and hearts for the very first time with our daughter all the
way around the world. It was one of the happiest and most beautiful days of our
lives. We spent two weeks in the
birth country of our daughter, sightseeing, learning her culture, and also
getting the necessary legalities in place to get Bella’s visa to finally come
home. It was truly the trip of our lives. The things we saw, experienced, and
felt will forever be etched in our hearts.
And then, just like that, it was all over. We were
back on familiar turf, yet we found ourselves in unfamiliar, “new” family
territory. We were home at last, but
no longer as a family of 4. We were now a family of 5, with a new
daughter/sister. Immediately the
trials and challenges came, some expected, and some very unexpected. Though Bella is a phenomenal little
girl and has done so well since coming home, the struggles we faced with
adjustments as a family were extremely difficult. In addition, we endured hardships this summer like none we
have experienced thus far. Bella struggled with a number of medical issues as
her little body tried to assimilate to a new environment and climate. We also
dealt with broken bones, injuries, casts, braces, physical therapy, surgeries,
and stitches to name a few. Not to mention a mound of medical bills that took a
natural toll on our finances. We
were “all” out of sorts in every way with our new little family and the anguish
seemed unbearable at times.
I kept thinking to myself, this was supposed to be
a year of JOY!!! In January of this year, I was convinced this WAS going to be
the year of Joy. After all, we would finally have our daughter home. Not to
mention, as a church, our 2012 sermon series was focusing on JOY! The verses I
was studying and the bible studies I had chosen also spoke so much about joy
that I was confident this was the year for it! Wallowing in my pity and sorrow
when most of the year was almost gone I wondered where all this joy was because
I wasn’t feeling it. Then the verse came to my mind from James 1:2-3, “Consider it great
joy my brothers whenever you experience various trials knowing that the testing
of your faith produces endurance.” Joy and trials together? I was reminded
of our pastor’s definition this year that joy is the supernatural delight and
deep satisfaction in God for the sheer beauty and worth of who He is.
There it is.
Joy is not based on our circumstances but in who God is! And according to
James, anguish and joy can coexist because God’s glory and the testing of our faith,
to bring forth what is ahead, is of much more value. Jesus understood this
truth as stated in Hebrews 12:2, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right
hand of the throne of God. Jesus
endured the sufferings of the cross because He knew of the joy set before Him.
What was that JOY? That we His children would be home with Him
forever. That our adoption would be complete. Ephesians 1:4-5 But
when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born
under the law, to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
This is what it’s all about. Adoption. The
Gospel. That Christ came and died for us so that we might be called the
children of God. Adoption will cost suffering. But just last week, as we stood
before the judge here in the States, as she officially declared Bella ours, and
her adoption complete, I could look back at our year of trials and consider it all JOY.... because of who God is and what Christ has done. This Christmas may you
experience God’s Adoption Joy.
Merry Christmas
The Wilbanks (Family of 5)
