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This Christmas: An Advent Prayer

Lord, meet me, join me. Make my aim, Lord, this Advent to bring joy to you through the giving of myself–my time, my plans, my agenda–for you to use. My gift of myself to you must take priority over my gifts to my family and friends. After all, it is your birthday we are celebrating–not mine, not my children’s, not my husband’s, not my friends’–your birthday, Lord. Part of my gift to you is loving the people you have put in front of me–those who are easy to love and those who are not. I want to give you my response to lonely people around the world–the orphan, the widow, the ones who are all alone, the ones who others have passed by. But, I do not know how to respond. Forgive me when I do not take the opportunities you have put in front of me to do it. Help me, Lord, to be able to do it.

Keep at the front of my mind that the cleaning of my spiritual house must take priority over the cleaning of my physical one, that nourishing my family’s souls is more important than holiday meals, that encouraging peace and harmony in my home is more beautiful than twinkling lights. Remind me, Lord, that in-filling times alone with you must happen alongside outpouring times with others. Remind me, Lord, and enable me to act in obedience with that reminder.

May an awareness of your presence fill me every moment of my day so that rather than you being squeezed out of my busyness, I will be aware of you walking with me as my shepherd. You are the only one this Advent season who can help me find those ordinary yet amazing experiences of joy that you provide with such grace and mercy and love amongst all the responsibilities, pressures, and heartaches of this world.

Lord, meet me; join me; forgive me; enable me; remind me; be present with me; reveal yourself to me.
Amen.

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Kelly Raudenbush

Kelly is a stay-at-home mom/manager to 4 children–one of whom is celebrating her first Christmas home this year. She adapted this prayer from an anonymously written advent prayer she received at a women’s Bible Study that inspired her to take it and write one for herself. Though she’d love to spend more time writing, she is a part-time editor and part-time blog-surfing junkie, always on the lookout for good resources and essays to post on this site that are way better than what she could come up with. You can learn more about their adoption story as well as follow day-to-day life on their personal blog.

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This Christmas: To My Son

Dear Finley,
It’s that time of year again.

The stores are crowded with people and, when we go outside for walks, we have to layer you up. Your little self is still used to Ugandan weather and so, it’s taking a little getting used to, this take your breath away chill in the air. I bundle you in hats and coats and kiss your freezing cold cheeks as we run our errands. Baby on my hip. Smile on my face. You make me so happy, Finley. It takes a lot longer running errands with you, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Last year, I remember getting ready for Christmas and having a lump in my throat the whole time. Being on the edge of tears for reasons I couldn’t explain in a sentence. I would wrap a present and think of you. Make cookies and wonder where you were. What you were doing that very instant. What name we would name you when you were with us.

It was only a few days until Christmas and suddenly I realized I had to get you your first ornament. I felt like such a bad mommy that I hadn’t thought of it before. Even though you wouldn’t be physically with us that year, you were being carried in my heart. each. and. every. day.

And so, all of a sudden, I threw myself into searching. It’s all I could think about. I had to find you the perfect ornament. And, then, finally I found it.

This year, I didn’t even have to think about what to get you for your first year with us. It was there in front of me, and it was perfect. A little sailboat made out of fabric for the little man who came all the way from across oceans to be with us. Our beautiful little man. Our Finley Asiimwe.

A few days ago, we laid under the Christmas tree, and I taught you how to stare up at the pretty lights and ornaments like me and my daddy used to do.

And, even though your little, you marveled.

You would look at the tree, look at me, and put your little finger back in your mouth, content to just stare. Pressing our heads together, we laid size by side. My arm around you. Both of us staring up. Enchanted. Enjoying the simpleness of life. We laid there until it was your bedtime and I had to pull you away. I love making memories. And, even though you may be too young to remember it, that night will always be one of my favorites.

I am so thankful for you, Finley, and everything you bring to your daddy and my life. We couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present this year then you. We love you more then you know, little man, and I am so so happy and honored that God chose you to be our son. You are perfect to us in every single way.

I love you to the moon and back.

Mommy

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AbiQ

AbiQ, is married to the love of her life and best friend. They currently live in a snug little apartment in the east bay with their little man, Finley Asiimwe, and two pups, Lexi Louanne and Mr. Mogley Winchester. AbiQ and her husband man just brought their baby boy, Finn, home from Uganda last month.

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This Christmas: This is it…

Advent.

I grew up in a church in the south, but we never really celebrated advent. I mean, we went to Christmas parties. Our church read scripture about the birth of Christ. We sang all the songs. But, the word “advent” didn’t enter my lexicon until the past few years. Even now, I don’t really spend a lot of weeks or even days preparing for the celebration of the Messiah.

I do know what it’s like to wait. In August of 2009, Anna and I started the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. We had discussed this for years and finally took the definitive step forward. Since then, it’s been a process of waiting. Get this form turned in and wait. Have this notarized then wait. Pay this fee and wait. Make this phone call and wait.

We decorated the house for Christmas with a slight sadness because we have waited so long and Lucy still isn’t here yet. We had seen her face, but we didn’t even know when we’d be able to view it outside of a backlit computer screen. It was frustrating.

A week ago, we got a call from our agency that said we had a court date. We’re going to be in Ethiopia at the end of January, and we arrive at court on February 4th with the anticipation that she will be ours. So now, even though she’s not here yet, we celebrate Christmas with a joy that our lives are about to change forever. There will be new joys, new hopes, new life that enters our house. Maybe that’s what Advent is about. The anticipation of new joys and new hopes and new life.

After years and years of wait, the Hebrew people got the Messiah they had been promised. All of humanity was given the Savior of the world. He didn’t come in a way that they expected. But, when he did come, all was right with the world. God never shows up the way we want him to. He always messes with our sense of expectation. For a while, I thought he was some cosmic bully, just letting us know that he’s in charge. I’m starting to see that God messes with our expectations because he wants us to know that if we take control of our lives, it just doesn’t work out as well. When he takes control, he blows our expectations out of the water. He lets us see just how small our plans are.

So, this year, I will celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. I will celebrate knowing that God knew this Christmas would be my last as a nonparent. I will celebrate because God has an enormous plan for the eventual redemption of the world, and I am a small part of it. I will celebrate because he knows what he’s doing, even when I don’t.

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Russ Polsgrove

Russ and Anna have been married for 5 years. Even as friends, before dating or marriage, they shared with one another that they each wanted to adopt. After marrying in May 2005, talk of adoption slowly entered its way into their conversations. Russ, working as a youth pastor, and Anna, working as a teacher and at a girl’s group home, saw the need more than ever for children to have loving, safe homes. After coming to this realization, they chose to begin the adoption process to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia. They will travel to Ethiopia at the end of January to meet Lucy and eventually bring her home. They are so excited about their story of choosing adoption to bring their first child home. You can follow their journey on their personal blog.

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Why I Chose to Adopt

Less than 12 months ago, I was a mom of two bio kids.
Today, I have three bio and one adopted.

It did not come easy.
I will not lie and say I did not toss and turn about it.
I prayed and prayed for timing for us and for the child.
I asked God to make me willing.
I asked God to open my heart.

I went to Haiti.
With my own two eyes, “I saw.”
I saw so much beauty, pain, but all came wrapped in need.
My heart was so open, I left wounded.
I wanted to run somewhere and pretend I had not seen such life.
I wanted to forget stories I heard.
I wanted to forget eyes that looked at me with hope.

As much as I wanted to.
I chose to not.

I came home and tossed and turned some more.
A lot more.

I thought of the boy I met.
I thought of what would be best for him.
I thought of the babies I carried.
I thought of the sound of roosters.
I thought of the sound of children laughing.
I thought of the lady I met on a random walk lifting her shirt to show me her hungry belly

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I Got You Babe!

Originally posted on her blog on September 7, 2010…

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I love days on which I am forced to reflect. Today is not a day I would typically think about anything other than the 15 piles of laundry this weekend

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Colorblind? No thanks.

Is there one of those topics in your life, that if touched upon, causes such a hostile reaction within you that you almost instantly feel your blood pressure rising in the form of a red-hot wave working its way up your body? I must honestly answer here; yes, there is!

Anyone who knows me even a little is likely very aware that I deplore racism. Actually, there is nothing that I can readily come up with that would cause me to go

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Adoption is Hard

Adoption is BEAUTIFUL, but it is HARD.

Adoption is REAL people/kids who have LOST EVERYTHING.

ALL adopted kids experience some kind of grief and trauma. And, yes, even children who are placed in their adopted parents arms right after birth experience the grief of losing their biological mother. It is just the way God designed us! God intended the relationship between a child and their biological parents to be the strongest human bond. But, because we live in a BROKEN world, this is not always the case. There are over 160 million children who are orphaned worldwide (UNICEF).

This week one of our children worked through some of their grief. It started over something very insignificant but ended in me rocking this child for over an hour while they wailed at the top of their lungs, and we listened to praise music. Much of this time was spent with both of us crying for the loss, the trauma, the hurt and the fear.

I tell you this because adoption is hard but worth every tear. God adopts us into His kingdom. When we decide to give our lives to Christ we can experience many of the same emotions. We hold onto the things of our past; we might fear the past or future; we grieve the past and slowly start trusting God. It takes time to give our WHOLE lives to God; it takes time to TRUST God with the small details; and it takes time to KNOW God will make all thinks work together for good like He tells us. It is a process similar to forming your family through adoption.

But as a Christian, we have the hope and joy of the future. We have understanding that we will spend eternity worshiping our King. We know that God has made us new, and He lives in us. But, we fight this because of our fleshly desires (sin).

Adoption is hard, but it is worth it. It is worth the cost of redemption because we are talking about human souls that will live forever in heaven or in hell. God wants to use the hard times so we can draw close to Him. God wants to rock us and tell us it will be okay. He will take care of us. He will provide for our needs. He will love us even when we sin. He loves us despite our wicked hearts. ALL GOD WANTS IS FOR US TO LOVE HIM!

Please do not let fear hold you back from adopting a precious child. God will give you the strength and wisdom you will need.

Although we had a painful night, we have seen tremendous strides in this child. God did heal parts of our child’s heart!

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Danielle Banker

Danielle is married to the love of her life, Doug. She is a stay-at-home mom who is starting to home school and loves orphan advocacy. God has used His plan of adoption to impact their lives. They brought home their first two children from Ethiopia in June 2010 (4 and 1 years old), and they hope to adopt many more children. You can follow their journey here.

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When we reach 200 followers, there will be a giveaway for one lucky follower.

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