Every year at Christmas time I get excited to decorate. Christmas 2011 was extra special because it was the first time to decorate my own home. I went to the store to buy stockings for my husband and me. Then I purchased some hooks to hang on the mantle. One said Noel, one joy, and the other was an angel hook. That first Christmas, I put the angel hook at the center of the mantle without a stocking quite yet. It would be for our baby someday.
Thus began a time of waiting expectantly for our family to grow.
We added two furry babies to our family in our first two years of marriage…still waiting for a human little one. A few Christmas seasons came and went, and that hook was still there. The first Christmas was exciting, the second we were ready, and the third we were hopeful, by the fourth there was pain, but faith. Our God promises “beauty for ashes” in Isaiah 61:3 and to place our hope in Him. Each year that hook was displayed as a sign of the hope we have in Christ and as a sign of faith. We serve a loving and faithful God. In this season of waiting expectantly, I prayed these truths daily: He is good, He is love, and He is faithful.
As we approach Christmas 2017, it is with pure joy and happy tears that I hung up our son’s stocking on that angel hook. Our boy is a beautiful reminder of the faithfulness and goodness of our God. He was with us each and every step of this journey. With the support of our family and friends, an incredible agency (AIM), our church, and with much prayer, we went on the journey of adoption. On December 8, 2017, Parker officially became our son at a court hearing.
Surrounded by Team Baby Weant, we promised to love Parker as our own and chose to adopt him into our family. His “Gotcha Day” was incredible! The day started with snow in Houston…like for real snow in Houston, TX. Our village each had on matching shirts that said “There’s no place like home” and our #weantandgotababy on the back. Then to top it off, the judge asked these beautifully worded questions which caused some people to start crying tears of joy. So of course, I held it together and didn’t cry (false: hot mess express for this happy momma!).
It was the question the judge asked about choosing to adopt this child that really caught my attention. The bible teaches us that “those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” 1 John 1:12-13, and in Romans 8:15, “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Our loving God adopts us into His family. He chooses to love us, so much so that He sent His son to save us.
When the Old Testament ends in Malachi, there is a 400-year quiet period of waiting (yikes, and I thought 5 years was long!). That was a long time of expectantly waiting for the savior. God promised to make a way and throughout the Old Testament, we see examples of people faithfully waiting. What an incredible scene that first Christmas must have been. We sing and read about it each year, but could you even imagine what those shepherds witnessed? Talk about tears of joy after all that waiting. God made a way, just as He promised. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11. Our sin separated us, His love was stronger. His perfect plan came to be and the best part is He’s coming back. His track record is pretty good, some might say perfect, so I will continue to faithfully wait on His return.
This Christmas, our family has so much to celebrate. It is with great joy I will remember the glorious day when God sent His son on that first Christmas. “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4.
However, the holidays can be a difficult time for those suffering from loss or loneliness, depression, fear, anxiety, uncertainty, etc. Please reach out for prayer and/or someone to talk to. Those of us celebrating, may we look for those in need of a listening ear, offer a hug, provide a warm meal, but just reach out.
Is there someone who is in a season of waiting or healing that could use your encouragement? Are you questioning if all of this Christmas stuff is real (not the Santa stuff but Jesus)? Reach out, ask the hard questions. Waiting to start the adoption process, apply for that job, join that small group, start your degree, get help for an addiction? I pray you step out in faith and begin your journey.
Praying for a wonderful 2018 for each of you. May God’s peace, love, and joy surround you and your family this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus!
