Forever Family- Thoughts from the middle of the night

I woke up at 3:30am this morning unable to sleep. My always kind husband got up with me and we talked for about an hour. It's a little over 24 hours until we meet Caleb. I am nervous but excited. So much to process and experience here that my mind is having trouble resting. He is trying to rest now, although I fear my typing is probably keeping him awake.
 
When I opened the internet, my usual tabs came up. One is the Upper Room Devotional: http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/ . Today, the devotional began with this passage:

Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."

-John 14:18-20 (NIV)
 
Yesterday during orientation, our agency representative said, "For them (the childred we are adopting), their life begins now." And while we know,appreciate, and recognize his past , his first parents, his caregivers, friends, experiences, country, culture, etc. of the past 2 years and 9 months, we know that in some ways this statement is true. Our life together as a family begins now. Caleb may have temporarily been an orphan, but in 28 hours he will begin to learn and experience the love of a forever family. It will be our challenge to honor and teach him about the experiences of his past while caring for him each day of his future.
 
I am thankful this morning for my Heavenly Father who has adopted me into His family. There is no greater "forever family" than that. Tomorrow we will begin to show Caleb our love. We will dry his tears, applaud his accomplishments, laugh with him, play with him, encourage him, feed him, love him each and every day. We will always be thankful for the experiences of his past and for the people who impacted his life. We will acknowledge and resect the parts of his story that carry brokenness and sorrow. Just like our Father has done for us.
 
I am so thankful for the gift of Caleb- I haven't met him yet but he is already teaching me so much about life and love. We are the "lucky" ones!
 
*We meet Caleb at 8am on July 3rd Central Time. That is 9am July 4th in China.
 
 

Comments

Rita and John said…
Thinking of you and praying for your little boy as he meets his forever family tomorrow!
July 2, 2011 at 5:48 PM
Hannah said…
i am so excited to see pictures of that sweet boy i can't stand it! praying for a smoothe and peaceful transition for him and the rest of the new Fanning Four family! <3
July 2, 2011 at 6:52 PM
Tammy said…
This post made me tear up! It is so beautiful. I am praying for you and Tom and your precious new son!
July 3, 2011 at 8:56 AM
Sara said…
You made me tear up a little bit!
July 3, 2011 at 8:57 AM
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