A few friends shared with me how hard this year had been. And my mind slowed down and I felt deeply their unspoken ache of loss, pain, hardship, fear, frustration, hopelessness… all passing, yet real and valid. As I pray for them I release the burdens I don’t need to carry.
Meanwhile I got to meet with newish friends, who celebrate and rejoice the redemption of adoption. The excitement of new beginnings is real and needs to be acknowledged and stored up in our hearts.
I have a decade of adoption experience. The conversations evolve, the challenges morph into regular parenting and teenage stuff. And we make a choice daily (a few times a day sometimes) to remain present, to embrace humor, to cry it out if necessary, to believe and pray for faith, and to appreciate the incredible gift of family.
Life is messy. Imperfect. Beautiful and frustrating. Rest a while and know that you are loved & your life matters.