advent & adoption

last week, i shared a few words at our church about advent from the perspective of adoption.

i have gained a new appreciation for israel and how God's people waited centuries for the promised messiah. in many ways, i know what it must have felt like to have little affirmations throughout history that God would one day redeem his people, and yet, at the same time, still anxiously have to await the day when the promised messiah would be revealed.

for us, we have had those same little affirmations along the way in our adoption process. we celebrated each time a new piece of paperwork came back, when we had the money to pay for one more fee, when we finally got on the waitlist. with each little step, we have known that we are closer to the day our children will be revealed.

and the waiting, at times, has been laborious. it has brought tears and anxiety and heavy hearts. i imagine this was true for God's people as they awaited the messiah. despite all the prophecies -- that the messiah would be born in bethlehem, out of the tribe of judah, out of david's line, to a virgin, etc. -- the people of israel had no clue when the messiah would come or what he would look like or even how the world would be changed when he arrived. all they really knew was that he was coming to rescue them from their sins and sorrows -- to restore them to God's perfect shalom.

i don't know yet what it feels like to receive a referral -- to experience the moment of having our children revealed. but i do know that the essence of christmas is the celebration of promises being fulfilled. we celebrate christmas because the messiah has come -- the promised hope of the world was revealed to us. and for those of us on this side of christ's birth, we now know him and all he has done.

on christmas, i often feel in the depths of my heart, that i have inadequately celebrated christ's birth. and this year, like so many, i have felt that. there may be little i can do to fix that because i am human, prone to allowing other things to overshadow the great miracle of christmas. but i want to foster a deeper sense of celebration in my heart not only for my sake, but also for my children's, because i want them to understand that christmas is the celebration of christ's birth, his coming, his revealing -- and not a celebration of presents, santa claus, memories, or even family. and as i have imagined over and over in my mind what it will be like to receive a referral, i have now seen that that moment may be a litmus test of sorts for my heart each christmas. because i know that my heart will overflow with such celebration, joy, peace, and contentment when my children are finally known to me.

and if that is true, how much more should my heart overflow with celebration, joy, peace, and contentment not only at christmas, but everyday, knowing that jesus -- the long-awaited, promised messiah -- was revealed to the world more than 2000 years ago!

come, thou long-expected jesus, born to set thy people free. from our fears and sins, release us. let us find our rest in thee. israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art. dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

*oh, and if you haven't heard, we are very close to a referral. we will receive the next referral for unrelated children. our agency is currently waiting on paperwork for children they know is being completed. please pray the paperwork comes in this week so that we will receive our referral next week when our agency re-opens january 3rd.