Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Adoption Day for Little Miss!


It is with many tears and much joy that I introduce you to our Little Miss. She has been a firecracker from the beginning, a ball of personality, and her fierce independence helped her push through a pretty rough start. Her mama named her Edith - reward of war. We gave her the middle name of Elizabeth - fullness of God.

She fills every corner of our home with loud color and incredible sass. Her brothers adore her and I love her so much I can barely contain it.

Two months shy of two years. That's how long this little light has been in our life.

Her adoption was only supposed to take a few months.

I'm not really a "praise God through the storm" girl. Maybe if I was superhuman I could manage it...but that hasn't been my experience. It's more like a desperate cling to my Sailor as the wind and rain beat the tar out of me. I don't give up or stop believing, but praise for the circumstance isn't usually forthcoming when I'm soaking wet.

I would say that I am the kind of girl that memorizes the waves and praises God for the destruction once I'm through the other side.

It's been a difficult two years. Our hearts were squeezed and twisted well beyond comfort and we were asked to step into terrifying shores, but the reward is great because it surpassed earthly relevance a long time ago.

Sweet Mama and I continue to write back and forth and I am stunned by the beautiful opportunity that God laid in my lap. I feel unworthy of it. Every letter from prison gives me deeper insight into the darkness Edie's mother has faced alone, yet there is the faintest shimmer of hope. Her life is not over; all is not lost. Through our growing friendship, she is experiencing God's love.

Just this week, I sent my application in for approval to visit her.

As we sat in the courtroom, today, celebrating Michigan's adoption day, I was a remembering mess. God didn't close my womb out of cruelty or pack our suitcases and haphazardly push us onto this path. He, methodically, touched a myriad of pain points with his gentle thumb and whispered for our hearts to follow. This is how he makes all things new. This is how he redeems and connects nonredeemable circumstances to life giving results.

Our life has been a series of God-driven question marks and looking back it's easy to see how one yes led to the next. People love to ask us if we're "done" adopting, now. A reporter asked me, today. My answer is always the same. We will stop saying, yes, when God stops asking.

It's easy for our efforts to be mistaken as sacrifice, but the truth? The return on our time and love far surpasses the moments we give.

This was such a wonderful day of celebration for our family. All day, Edie kept saying, "I adopted! I adopted!" There is powerful identity in family. It feels so good to have finality in this part of our story. There is so much more to come from this little girl, her baby brother, and both of their mothers. But, today, we celebrate with tear-streaked faces.

There is one less lovie stuck in a life-sucking system.

23 comments:

  1. Wonderful news!! Edie is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations! I saw this post pop up on my facebook and it hit me, we sat next to you in Lakeville at the Celtic Knot. My sister, who has 2 children through adoption, mentioned how well behaved your children were at dinner. Anyways, congrats again! I will continue to read your blog for updates. :)
    Melissa
    WWW.tenderjourney.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa! What a small world. Cisco lives for the dumpling stew at the Celtic Knot :).

      Delete
  3. Congratulations to your beautiful family. Happy Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations, Pinchbacks! I've loved watching you go from zero kids to ALL THESE KIDS! I can't imagine how much pain you've felt throughout the process, but God sure has blessed you and especially has blessed all those sweet babies of yours!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats. To you guys and to Little Miss Edith.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amen! What a beautiful family. Here's hoping for much peace during Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful every day - your 5 miracles.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congratulations to your ever growing family. You have so much to celebrate this Thanksgiving. I wish you and your family a blessed holiday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So much to be thankful for! Congrats, Pinchbacks!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love love love! What an incredibly beautiful family. I am in awe of your faith. Happy Thanksgiving.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so happy this day finally came! Yay for Edith (my mother's name) Elizabeth! Love you guys. Julie

    ReplyDelete
  11. Finally!! I am so happy for you, Ben, the boys and most of all Edith!! So four down and one to go!! It was a long hard road to get to this point!! Through prayer and patience you made it!! Can't wait for the announcement when Baby Brothers adoption if finalized!! Once again Congrats to all of you!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just beautiful and congratulations to all of you.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Welcome to team Pinchback little Edith. Of course I love her middle name. My mom gave me the same one. Love you guys!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. YAY!! Love your heart as always! XO, Canadian hugs & thanksgiving

    ReplyDelete
  15. "God didn't close my womb out of cruelty or pack our suitcases and haphazardly push us onto this path. He, methodically, touched a myriad of pain points with his gentle thumb and whispered for our hearts to follow. This is how he makes all things new. This is how he redeems..."
    *tears* Thank you for this and congrats on precious Edie.❤️

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the name Edith. Congratulations!

    Does Edith have a Pinchback jersey too?

    ReplyDelete