Loving Well

 Adoption is a choice to love.   We make a choice to bring a child into our lives and family and make them our own.   Some are easier than others.  Kids that are adoptable come from hard places and hard situations.

We love all of our kids the same, adopted or biological they are ours.    When you adopt you generally only know part of the story of the child.  Some records are more complete than others and some are just way off.    With Hannah her paperwork did not paint a picture of her background or health status.   This was further complicated by a less than honest adoption agency that blew off questions we asked and outright lied to us.

However once we made the decision to go get her she was ours.   As we peeled the onion and learned about her issues she was still ours.   On days when we get frustrated she is still ours.   We know that God prompted us to adopt and that He selected this child for us.

I will admit that with Hannah there have been days that it was hard to love her but it gets easier all the time.   Partly because Hannah loves well.   Hannah has the sweetest disposition and is sweet most of the time.  She generally has a smile on her face and shows her love for us.

Most days when I get home from work if she hears me come in she screams "Daddy Home, Daddy Home" and she runs to wrap her arms around my legs.   Before she goes to bed she wants to come kiss me on the cheek.  If she is up of the morning before I leave for work she has to come give me a hug.   

Hannah has trouble expressing herself in words but she knows how to love well.   She has learned key phrases and can express her love for us.   And the more you are around her the easier it is to love her.    

For me Hannah is redefining me in a lot of ways.   She has opened my eyes to things I previously could not see.  She has allowed me to see how her siblings have fallen in love with her (yes even the older adult ones).   She has taught me a lot about unconditional love and how to accept people where they are.

Recently we were on a family vacation with 14 of the 17 in our family.  2 of our older kids and their wives, 2 of the grand kids and all.   Everyone loved Hannah and she loved everyone.   She experienced things she had never done before and she showed us how fearless she is.

One day we went on a sky coaster up in the Rocky Mountains.  Her first ride was with me.  I started out slow to see how she would do.  Her giggles and screams were great.  I asked do you want to go faster and she said "Faster, Faster"  So we went full speed down the mountain.  Later that day we rode a ski lift up to the very top and I wondered if she would be afraid.  Not at all she leaned forward and looked down and loved the views.   I learned that day that Hannah has not fear.

I hope Hannah knows how much we are learning to love her.   I hope she understands how she is changing us.  I hope that through her we learn how to love well and to in the end be better people.

I challenge anyone reading this to Love Well and be open to opportunities and challenges God puts in your path.