A sense of isolation and loneliness cling to me. I want to slip into a cocoon of self-preservation. On the very day, at the very moment that I declared my intention to do just that, the phone rang.
"Hey, Reag"
There is only one person on this whole planet that calls me Reag and I'm willing to delay my trip into depression to talk with her.
Wayne spied Jess's name on the caller ID and smiled with relief. Crisis diverted.
She had called to check in one last time. One last chat before her world goes crazy.
The Thai princess is coming home!
Jess, her husband, their gorgeous son and her wonderful parents are flying to Thailand this Sunday. Traveling across the globe to complete their family. Sweet Nu Ja's been waiting for them in an orphanage.
It seems like they have been aching to hold her for a million years..
I'll be stalking their blog daily, waiting anxiously to see that little girl in her mama's arms.
It's been a honor to witness both of their adoption journeys. That she included me, even down to their final preparations, is a gift I will cherish all of my life. It's changed me.
With each of my pregnancies, those last few days sent me over the edge of looniness. I was ready to hold my baby, ready to have my body back, ready for the pain. I drank blackberry tea, I walked up hills, I went shopping, I massaged my ankles, I painted my toes, I shaved my legs, I cleaned out closets and I cried, "Lord, please let this baby come today!". The anticipation was killer. I showed up early to every one of their births, yep, all five of them. The midwife shook her head and I pleaded, "Please don't send me home!"
The labor was always worse than I remembered. And even though I screamed, "I can't do this!", there was no going back....
The hellish pain was richly rewarded.
I can't help but draw a comparison.
This adoption has been a long, agonizing wait. They have faced it with tenacity and grace. A foreshadowing of future victories. There has been no retreat.The sky is the limit, little Nu Ja.... Nobody is holding you back. And whoa to anyone who would try... Your mama takes down gang bangers for a living!
Jess, you are my hero. You inspire me and give me courage. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also
lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
We've been connected by adoption since that day in the church parking lot. I had to call you before I left - I had to!
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