leaving home

A year ago today Ian and I left for China. I had never been out of the country before. I had never been away from Jessie and the boys for more than a night or two. And that had only been a couple of times. In sixteen years. I was so nervous to leave them. So, so nervous even though I knew they were in perfectly capable hands. I dreaded saying goodbye. I didn't want them to see me cry. Didn't want them to see how crazy scared I was. But I was. I really was. We managed a cheerful goodbye, with a lot of lip biting on my part, as they headed off to school. We promised to call them from the airport when they got home. I drove away from the school that day with tears streaming down my face. The process of international adoption had definitely been a journey of faith for us. A journey that at times required more faith than I thought I had. I look back now and see how much we have grown. How much we have changed. And, in all honesty, shudder to think what we might have missed if we had let our fear overshadow our faith. For some reason, I just knew that we would be missing something amazingly beautiful if we didn't proceed. It was something I had known for years. Something I hung onto. And I was right. I thank Heavenly Father every day for bringing the blessing of Sophie into our lives. She was that beautiful something.

I stumbled upon this video during our wait to bring Sophie home. I loved the message of hope and still do. Since returning home, a day doesn't pass that I don't think about the children in China still waiting and hoping for a family of their own.

(*You will need to pause the music at the bottom before playing the video.*)