There are times when I just "am". That is now. We have been riding a whirlwind of activity since Maisy got home. New nurses training new nurses in. New doctors and social workers to keep in the loop. Rugby games and end of the year choir concerts and board meetings that still need to be attended. And a whole family of people just trying to adapt to this new chapter of our lives.
And then there is one little girl trying to figure this all out.
Maisy connects one song or game with each person she knows well. When I come into the room, she starts the actions for the song "choo choo" that I taught her. When Mark comes in, it is always a game of peekaboo. She is so filled with sunshine. As she settles in here, she is unaware of the implications of all that is going on in her life right now. She has been claimed.
Our social workers came out with paperwork to go over. We are working with Downeyside for this adoption and it was so refreshing to be able to see the acknowledgement of a faith component to this adoption. Our last adoptions have been County affiliated and although we have been free to share our faith, we certainly have not been handed any paperwork that acknowledges that overlying driving force.
I was encouraged to read of the agency's philosophy of a moral adoption versus a legal one. They speak of the concept that morally, we have adopted Maisy and that the legal piece just takes a little longer. I really like that. She is ours...not "almost" ours. For those of you who have adopted privately, this concept is not at all foreign to you. But to those of us who have adopted through the foster care system, this concept is not expressed often.
This is not a trial period. It is not the time we see if we are getting what we were "promised." It is a time to build upon that bonding process that has begun long before we even knew Maisy Grace was out there in the world. But more importantly it is the time when we say with 100% certainty that she is ours.
..And she is claimed. She is a Martindale. She is ours. Claiming is like being pregnant..either you are or you are not. It is not a process like bonding. On the day that Maisy was placed in our arms, we have chosen to claim her unconditionally. It never ceases to amaze me how God and His love for us is lived out in adoption. He has claimed us and will not let us out of His grasp. He will never, ever let us out of His grip. And today I am resting in that promise. That is a great place to be...
And then there is one little girl trying to figure this all out.
Maisy connects one song or game with each person she knows well. When I come into the room, she starts the actions for the song "choo choo" that I taught her. When Mark comes in, it is always a game of peekaboo. She is so filled with sunshine. As she settles in here, she is unaware of the implications of all that is going on in her life right now. She has been claimed.
Our social workers came out with paperwork to go over. We are working with Downeyside for this adoption and it was so refreshing to be able to see the acknowledgement of a faith component to this adoption. Our last adoptions have been County affiliated and although we have been free to share our faith, we certainly have not been handed any paperwork that acknowledges that overlying driving force.
I was encouraged to read of the agency's philosophy of a moral adoption versus a legal one. They speak of the concept that morally, we have adopted Maisy and that the legal piece just takes a little longer. I really like that. She is ours...not "almost" ours. For those of you who have adopted privately, this concept is not at all foreign to you. But to those of us who have adopted through the foster care system, this concept is not expressed often.
This is not a trial period. It is not the time we see if we are getting what we were "promised." It is a time to build upon that bonding process that has begun long before we even knew Maisy Grace was out there in the world. But more importantly it is the time when we say with 100% certainty that she is ours.
..And she is claimed. She is a Martindale. She is ours. Claiming is like being pregnant..either you are or you are not. It is not a process like bonding. On the day that Maisy was placed in our arms, we have chosen to claim her unconditionally. It never ceases to amaze me how God and His love for us is lived out in adoption. He has claimed us and will not let us out of His grasp. He will never, ever let us out of His grip. And today I am resting in that promise. That is a great place to be...
