On June 24, 2013, I met Jiang Ruiyang. She was dressed in a yellow shorts outfit and orange shoes and her head was freshly shaved. She was tiny and sweating and unsure of what was going on, but she came to me without a fuss. I stood there in that tiny conference room in some building on a one-way street in Shanghai, China, and I held that little girl.... Mary Powell..... and read her books, fed her Puffs, played with stickers, and made faces. I told her that day that I'd LOVE to be her Mama, and I asked her if that'd be alright? She didn't understand a word I was saying, but she smiled at me, so I guessed she thought that might be an okay idea. Turns out, it was a VERY good idea.
I'd already been COMPLETELY BLESSED with two biological children. Our boys continue to AMAZE me with their joy and their goodness. Not a DAY goes by that I'm not totally and completely OVERWHELMED that I get to be THEIR Mama, too. (Except maybe when we're working on commentary for some essay or somebody gives me the wrong start time for the concert..... )... But EVEN THEN, it's ALL GOOD.
And then, the Lord blessed me with another one to mother.... Mary Powell. She fits RIGHT IN around here and it has been nothing but PURE JOY to love on her.
I had no idea that things would work out so wonderfully as I stood there that morning in China. I wasn't sure she'd adjust to us. I didn't know life would develop a new normal. I couldn't see all that the Lord had in store for the Powell family......
BUT I DID KNOW TWO THINGS:
1) I knew that the Lord had called us to adoption and that he'd chosen Jiang Ruiyang to be Mary Powell. I KNEW that, through brokenness, he'd chosen us to be her parents. I did not take for granted the awesome blessing that I'd been given to be her mother. I knew this was ALL GOD.
2) And I knew we'd be back.
In that moment, I knew that we would adopt again. I just knew it. Course, in the craziness of adjustment that followed, then the busyness of life that is unavoidable, I didn't share that certainty with too many folks. One. I shared it with one. I told Joe that I felt that there would be another sister in our future. He thought I was kidding. I'm a kidder and he thought that was a funny joke. Life is FULL. Like, F-U-L-L. You've LOST YOUR MIND if you think we can fit another person into Powellville.
But every now and then (even in CHINA just hours after we met Mary!), I'd flash him TWO fingers.... like there will be TWO little adopted blessings. We'll be back again. Even after we were home and in the years Mary has been with us, from time to time I'd flash those two fingers at Joe and remind him.... we're gonna go back. There's another person out there for us. My mothering arms aren't QUITE full just yet.
And it's CRAZY. We do not have two minutes to rub together around here. I literally have resorted to carrying around a VERY BIG DESK CALENDAR everywhere I go - it's tucked under my arm as I come and go.... and it tells me everywhere everyone is supposed to be and when. I'd just have to crawl in a hole without my BIG DESK CALENDAR OF LIFE. It's totally insanity to think that there's room on that calendar for another person's stuff. Cause there's not.
So, I can't explain how this makes sense. I can't explain how having FOUR children will make things even busier and more chaotic. I refuse to think about how the tornado that is my house will be even MORE of a disaster when another person comes to live here. I do not even know how we're all going to fit in the car.
But there are a few things I DO know. I do know that I'm missing somebody. I don't know who she is or where she is, but she's not here, and I miss her. I do know that there's no such thing as TOO MUCH JOY. I know that I am certain that this is supposed to be. And I can't think of a better way to spend my time than tracking the comings and goings of FOUR precious children, smiling at FOUR sweet faces, laughing through life with FOUR human beings that I've been called to mother.
So, I'm focusing on what I KNOW.
We are almost finished with our Home Study and have been sitting on this secret for a while now.... unless you've spent any time with Mary Powell who CANNOT keep a secret. She's been telling folks left and right that we're going back to China to get her sister, but Mary's a bit full of it, so I think people haven't quite believed what she's saying.
Lottie Gene Powell will join our crew hopefully by next summer! She will be welcomed by the most incredible big brothers in the whole world and the most excited big sister EVER. She will enter into an already FULL house..... but she will always know that it was actually quite empty without her. Life is GOOD.... but, it's going to be even GOODER! (A Mary word)
The Lord has done GREAT things for us..... and He's not done yet!
Please join us in prayer as we continue the LONG adoption process.
Pray specifically for:
1) Lottie: pray for safety, health, and that someone will love on her until I can get there
2) Lottie's China Mom: pray for comfort and a deep knowledge that her little girl will be SO LOVED
3) Our family: Pray for patience and peace as we continue the process
4) The adoption process: pray that it will go smoothly and quickly
We are excited, nervous, scared, and thrilled! I'm going to DO MY BEST to keep the blog updated with the status of things as we move forward, and we are thankful for your support and encouragement.
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
AND THEY ARE GREAT! (I added that part. It's not in the Bible.)
