A Place for Peter

A Place for Peter: Last year about this time, my husband Thom and I were celebrating 20 years of marriage. We went away inbetween snow storms and it will be no surprise to you readers that it snowed while we were away and we got an extra day free. Of course, Thom and I are familiar with these kinds of blessings and we both said, "wonder what God is up to!" We had no idea then that we would be called to adopt a little boy with Down's Syndrome from Hong Kong. March of 2010 had to be the roughest and most confusing of our Christian lives. We had no idea the challenges and the good grace that would pour out on us during this process.

Maybe you can tell that the written way isn't the best for me. I am a storyteller, and face to face or in large groups is always my preferred medium. So please bear with me. "Special Needs? Are you crazy Thommy?" I want to start my posts here tonight with a funny thought I shared with my family yesterday. When Thom and I went through pre-marital counseling, my husband wanted 6 kids! "YIKES," I said, "only one for each hand!" was my response. I now have the distinct impression from God that Thom may just get his way and I am at peace with it.

Anyway, "Special needs, are you crazy Thommy," was my initial thought. I was 50 years old when the email came with the precious face of a little guy in need of a family that had DS. My heart broke when I saw the picture. But my fear level went up as well. This was serious! Not noble or great or what good hearts you guys have. NO! A little child with permanent serious issues needed a forever home. FOREVER! God began the challenge to my thoughts about how I thought my life should be right then and there.

You see I had learned through the adoption of our son Eliot from Guatemala in 2007, that age had nothing to do with it. God calls us and we are to respond. What an absolute joy it has been being a mother to our little boy who is now 4 years old. So I knew that saying absolute things like, "no way are you crazy?", or "I am not convinced that God would want us to do this." would not be pleasing to God. My husband felt a tug in his heart towards another adoption and I needed to trust in God and trust in the direction God was taking my husband. We have always ended up on the same page in other areas of life sooner or later and with it came lots of grace-filled life lessons. I was being prompted by God to step outside of my comfort zone, to lay aside my opinion and to quietly consider, and converse with my husband and my Heavenly Father. But was I willing to say, "Not my will, but Your will be done?"

As in everything in my Christian experience, each step forward begins with a questions that send chills up my spiritual spine, interrupted sleep, lots of tears and then PEACE. Peace came in waves like warm blankets on cold days when the chills would not leave my bones. God was and is so patient with me during these times. He already knows the outcome, He already knows the days ahead, He already knows. This is where I find my peace. This is where I will end this first post.