Halfway Around the World

It's 8pm in China.

I woke up this morning at 6:00am to two kids jumping into bed, climbing on top of me shouting "Mama mama, Good Morning!"  We sat in bed and tried to guess how much snow might fall today- would it be enough to make a snowman?  Could we make snow cream?  How does snow fall?  Why do trucks put salt on the road?  It was a tangle of excited questions and snuggles, an early morning wake up call before the sun was even shining.  And I thought of Zachary.

What was he doing in China while we're piled in bed dreaming of snow?  Did anyone put him to bed tonight and snuggle him? Has he ever been outside to see snow?  It's such a surreal feeling to have a child on the other side of the world and know so little about his life.

I can't wait for the morning when all three of our little ones will jump into bed excited for snow, or Christmas morning, or our next vacation...whatever it is I look forward to the privilege of sharing these experiences with Zachary.  It is these ordinary moments that make us a family...something he has never known.

This morning I feel so grateful.  For Asher and Laurel, that they have a mom and dad and a bed to jump into.  That they don't know what it is like to live without these things.  In our broken world, so many do know.  I don't want to take that for granted.
As we wait expectantly for snow I am reminded of how often God uses periods of waiting to bring about glorious miracles.

Noah waited for rain as he built an ark.

Abraham and Sarah waited for their promised son.

The whole world waited for a Messiah.

God delivered on his promises in ways that the human mind and heart could not even comprehend!  The waiting was hard, agonizing, at times seemed pointless.  But the payoff was miraculous! 

 A restored Earth. 

God's Chosen People, the lineage of the Messiah.

Jesus, God with us!

We wait for Jesus to return and make all things new.  These moments as family are beautiful glimpses of heaven on Earth.  Bringing Zachary into our family is a small, broken glimpse of how God has adopted us into his family through Jesus Christ.  Brothers and sisters and heirs with the God of the Universe.  It's miraculous!

Small things point to bigger things and sometimes we get to see it...sometimes even in the haze of a too early morning wake up.

Thank you God for family, for the miracle and wonder of snow, and for a precious boy halfway around the world.