Last Christmas was wonderful, but a huge piece of my heart was missing. I knew that my sweet baby girl was on the other side of the world, and would have to spend one more Christmas without her family. We tried our best to include her... She had gifts under the tree, and even her stocking hung next to everyone else's.....
It just wasnt the same without her.
Last year, after all of the gift opening was done, I looked at the mess of wrapping paper and toys scattered all over our house, and thought about my Ellie, and all of the orphans of the world. My other children had so many toys there was hardly room to walk... Yet what did Ellie, and the other children without families have? Yes, they may have an opportunity to celebrate Christmas, and even get a taste for it....but nothing is theirs! Not even their own stocking....
BUT.... This year.....our Ellie, no longer an orphan, was able to experience every bit of joy and fun of Christmas. This year she peeked into her very own stocking....
When people ask how our Christmas was this year....it hards for me to express the way we have felt this year.... We are joyful, peaceful, happy, yet so much more. Jesus is the reason for this amazing holiday, the time to remember His birth. But it is also a time to feel and understand the unspeakable joy that comes into your life by walking in His way.....this year we came into a new understanding of that joy! To see before me the answer to my prayers, and the longing of my heart...there under our tree, enjoying her toys and fun with her brothers and sisters....I could not stop smiling! I couldn't stop praising the Lord! And I couldn't help remembering all of the other children left in the orphanages of the world....how were they spending their Christmas? On this happiest day, the day when all of the children of the world, are filled with excitement and laughter... Are those orphans filled with sadness and despair? I pray that more people will open their hearts to the orphans of the world. There are so many reasons people give for not considering adoption...expense, time, other children, etc. But the life of a child is priceless, timeless, precious! Every child deserves a family, a home of their own, and their own Christmas stocking.
Our hearts will never be the same.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
We pray you will feel the love of the Father as you walk in the way of the Son, and the JOY of the Spirit!
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