You see that little thing in the middle with the pink shirt and one shoe on?
This is a picture of my daughters during our recent vacation at our traditional spot on the swing outside the Nature Center. We have pictures on this swing going back about 7 years and I love seeing the growth – both in size and number!
Last night these 4 girls and my great wife took me out to dinner for Father’s Day (long story – but there were no crowds!). Two things happened that stopped me dead in my tracks. On the way there in the family van amongst all the hubub and din of 6 hungry people in a small space, this little voice comes from the biggest car seat screaming “DAD-DY! DAD-DY! DAD-DY!” on and on and on. At first it just blended in to the noise of the ride but then Jody pointed out what she was saying.
There hadn’t really been any big build up to a big “Daddy” celebration so it was cute that she just started chanting my name. But even more importantly, when this beautiful little person was born there was no Daddy. Hers was to be a life of poverty, chronic illness, hunger, and fatherless-ness. I’ve always thought childbirth is an amazing miracle, but I have witnessed how adoption is a different, but equally amazing miracle. God took a dopey guy like me and gave this girl a father. I mess up constantly and could certainly do way better, but even my worst day is better than…nothing. I digress. Let me continue the story.
So there we are, food finally at the table after a few trips “to the van” for Little Miss Impatient. Everyone’s ready to eat and Jody is about to say a quick prayer when that same little voice speaks up. Her head is bowed low, hands folded carefully and we all hear:
“Dear Jesus, Nank-oo food, Nank-oo Daddy. Aaaaaay-men!”
And she looks up as proud as can be. (FYI, in case you don’t speak Zoe-gibberish, “nank-oo” is “Thank you”) My heart was about to burst. Again I was completely humbled to the point where no words would come out. For those of you who don’t already know Zoe, there are only two speeds – 150% and asleep. For her to stop in the midst of all the activity and impending feast to take care of the prayer is…well…yet another miracle I’ve now witnessed.
I share this to give you a window into the life of an adoptive family. On one hand it’s just like anyone else’s life. On another hand there are moments where the blessings that we receive transcend anything you can imagine. And she is just one child. There are so many more who need a Father, a Mother, a family. In the big picture it takes so little to make such a big difference in someone’s life. For us, it was a tiny girl in Ethiopia. But there are kids all of the world, all over the US, even all over Virginia, who could be the next member of your family.
As you may already know, I’m going to be visiting the fatherless in Uganda and Ethiopia this summer. Trip info is here. The trip is not cheap, but I have been blessed to receive over 75% of the cost in donations already. I only need another $955 to have the trip paid for, and that’s when the fun begins. Any FUNds raised beyond that will be to help the people and places to which we’ll be traveling.
I’m doing this little triathlon thing and you can give one of two ways – donate to our trip in my name directly to Visiting Orphans who is administering the trip, or by clicking on our Paypal button on the right to donate to me directly and you’ll also have a chance to win a fat-daddy prize package by guessing the closest to the combined time for me and my friend who are running this race together. You can enter for as little as $10. Find out the details on the Tri Hard for Orphans and Water page but the race is THIS SUNDAY morning so you only have a few days to submit your entries. I just finished my last big run this morning and can’t wait to do this – time for the Black Potato to suit up!
