6 Months Old

Micah is 6 months old today. He's halfway to his 1st birthday!

As we gear up for our journey to Liberia, my mind is swarming with thoughts. I wonder if people think we're nuts!? It's difficult to articulate why I would sign up to have my heart broken. Liberia is considered by most to be the poorest country in the world, and based on the stories I have heard, I fully expect to have my heart broken in a new way when we travel there. Somebody asked me today, "Do you think you might come back with more than one child?" If it were possible to simply take a child's hand and bring him or her home with us, I can't imagine we would be able to look in the face of such devastation and only lead one child out of the nightmare. And that's the kicker: looking in the face of the devastation.

I keep thinking about how, legally, ignorance is not an excuse... If you get pulled over for speeding and you didn't know the speed limit, you still get the ticket. You are not off the hook. God says, "Pure and lasting religion... means that we must care for orphans..." (James 1:27) He doesn't say, "...we must care for orphans if we know any," or "...we must care for orphans if we happen to see some..." He says, "...we must care for orphans..." Ignorance is not an excuse! But I think I am quite ignorant regarding the magnitude of the need. I am not an empathetic person by nature, so I am sometimes not as impacted as others by stories I read or hear. I am very visual, and so I know my visit to Africa will impress the gravity of the need on my heart like I've not experienced before.

We (as Christians) care for orphans in many ways, of course. Depending on our season of life, we might sponsor children financially, adopt, help fund adoptions (like many of you have helped fund ours! Thank you again!), provide foster care, volunteer in an orphanage, etc. I am inexpressibly thankful that God has called Corey and I to adopt. But I know I have a long way to go in having my heart broken like God's heart is broken for the orphans of the world. I am filled with gratitude that God is giving me the opportunity to see first hand the sadness and despair He looks upon constantly... like I said, this is so hard to articulate!

My friend Amber says it well--that art (photography, sculptures, music, etc.) can communicate to our hearts in a way words can't. On another level. So here's a video from Sara Groves that I found on another Adoptive Mama's blog that might give you a better glimpse of what I am anticipating as I prepare to set foot in Africa. My favorite lines are, "Your courage asks me what I am afraid of. Your courage asks me what I am made of. And what I know of love. And what I know of God."