Guest: When An Orphan Becomes A Son
But God has just blown my socks off. When I met my son seven weeks ago, he was scared to the point that he would often have long meltdowns when he felt overwhelmed. It was just a pure fear reaction to various circumstances. During these episodes, he completely checked out and couldn’t vocalize what was wrong or how I could help. He avoided even making eye contact with me and would push me away if I tried to hold him. I had no idea what the best way to handle this was, so I just followed my mommy heart and took him somewhere quiet and held him when he was ready to be held. When he calmed down, I told him I was so glad he felt better.
A few mornings ago he started to have a similar fit over something. I knelt down to his eye level and asked what was wrong. And for the first time, he looked at me and through tears said, “I want you to hold me, Mommy.” I picked him up. He stopped crying and within a couple of minutes he was giggling.
This is not because I’m such an amazing mommy that I’ve singlehandedly mended his heart. No way. This kind of healing in such a short time is beyond human abilities. It goes against everything textbooks and social workers say. He’s an older child, we broke birth order, heck, we even artificially twinned;Trust me, that was not at all our plan going into this. Nope, that was God’s perfect plan, not mine. I knew the moment He laid that on our hearts that;He would be faithful and that He could heal any hurt. And, boy, has he ever.
God’s heart is for orphans to become sons. And He lets imperfect people like me be a part of that. Mommies who sometimes let
their kids watch too many cartoons or forget to pack a spoon in their lunchboxes. There was a time I thought He only wanted the really great moms to do this job. I was so wrong. He equips me (of all people!) to do this. Everyday I wake up, completely incapable of handling the day ahead. And everyday, He gives me just what I need to love these children He has loaned me.
Experiencing the healing that happens when an orphan becomes a son is worth every penny spent, every late night, every mile travelled, every piece of paper filled out, every phone call, every obstacle, every hard day. Being his mommy is one of the greatest things God has ever called me to. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Guest Blogger: Lara the Farmer’s Wife Blog
