He weaves our stories.
do you remember the post where i told you about the awesome gift that a "random stranger" gave us this winter?
the one where if you have any doubt that things are orchestrated much more deliberately and
lovingly than we could ever imagine, that post challenges your disbelief?
the one where i thought we would never know anything else of clayton's life prior to meeting him,
yet we were gifted 46 pictures of baby clayton?
that even led to some videos of baby clay, stories of some of his time before we knew him!
and now? a lifelong friendship.
the "random stranger" that God used to deliver us these gifts was Anna.
it is amazing how He has woven our stories, our lives, together. she found us while searching for her son that she was desperately trying to return to in Africa. i will never forget the tears that flowed as i pushed 'send'on the e-mail that would tell her that her tiny son had passed away 3 months before.
her son, lucas, and our clayton had been buddies. they traveled together from the orphanage where
she had volunteered to the orphanage where i met clayton. just a half an hour before i met clayton, i
held lucas in my arms and rocked him to sleep. i snuggled him and eventually laid him on his belly
for a nap.
anna had loved on our boy when he was only a prayer to us.
i loved on her boy as she prayed to find a way to return to him.
and yesterday, we got to meet. as she grieves the loss of her son, lucas, she is a beautiful example of
joy and hope. she is a gift to us and will forever be loved & part of our family. would you like
to meet her sweet son, lucas, and give her a word of encouragement? try here.
oh, how i long for every child to be loved. to have a mother. a family.
thank you, anna, for being you. for being lucas' mom. for loving our boy.
the one where if you have any doubt that things are orchestrated much more deliberately and
lovingly than we could ever imagine, that post challenges your disbelief?
the one where i thought we would never know anything else of clayton's life prior to meeting him,
yet we were gifted 46 pictures of baby clayton?
that even led to some videos of baby clay, stories of some of his time before we knew him!
and now? a lifelong friendship.
the "random stranger" that God used to deliver us these gifts was Anna.
it is amazing how He has woven our stories, our lives, together. she found us while searching for her son that she was desperately trying to return to in Africa. i will never forget the tears that flowed as i pushed 'send'on the e-mail that would tell her that her tiny son had passed away 3 months before.
her son, lucas, and our clayton had been buddies. they traveled together from the orphanage where
she had volunteered to the orphanage where i met clayton. just a half an hour before i met clayton, i
held lucas in my arms and rocked him to sleep. i snuggled him and eventually laid him on his belly
for a nap.
anna had loved on our boy when he was only a prayer to us.
i loved on her boy as she prayed to find a way to return to him.
and yesterday, we got to meet. as she grieves the loss of her son, lucas, she is a beautiful example of
joy and hope. she is a gift to us and will forever be loved & part of our family. would you like
to meet her sweet son, lucas, and give her a word of encouragement? try here.
oh, how i long for every child to be loved. to have a mother. a family.
thank you, anna, for being you. for being lucas' mom. for loving our boy.
precious and heartbreaking at the same time. God is amazing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I can't even imagine the air in the room when you two finally met. And when she saw Clay, wow. I clicked over and "met" sweet Lucas. I hope her heart is doing well.
ReplyDeleteSteph
What an amazing story!!!
ReplyDeleteOff to read more about Anna...
so glad your boys got to spend time with each other and with both of you...what a sad ending to her dream.
ReplyDeleteLove, this is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. I wish I could stress to you the impact your blog and words have on my life and heart! I always save your posts for a time when I can truly be alone with my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI read the story of her sweet son-powerful and amazing. Praying for peace, and strength for her to continue to share his story.
ReplyDeleteLovelyn, thank you so much for sharing this. I love knowing that more and more people are learning about Lucas, and I pray our journeys will open eyes and hearts to orphans all around the world.
ReplyDeleteTears in my eye and pain in my heart...your words and images are beautiful, as are you.
ReplyDeleteHi there! A friend just told me about your blog and I just finished reading your story about Finding Clayton. First, I have to say what a beautiful family!! We too, have 4 biological children and feel called to adopt internationally. I'm reading and researching and currently feel a little overwhelmed with all the options. I know God will show us where we need to go/what to do but I also wanted to be as educated as I can about the greatest needs. Anyway, I was just wondering if you could tell me how you ended up at the orphanage where Clayton was at (maybe there was a post about that I missed) and if you went through a particular adoption agency. Any advice you would give to someone like me who is eager and ready yet feels overwhelmed with all the options? Thanks so much for sharing your lives on your blog. It's inspiring and helpful to so many! Many Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThis completely broke my heart. What a blessing to have those people randomonly come into your life. It's truly a gift from God.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I have read your blog and I am sitting here sniffling and crying because I have felt for awhile that I do have a calling to adopt. I would love to know how you became connected with the organization you did. What a beautiful experience and story! We have a 5 year old and a 1 year old and were contemplating having one more, but I think that there are so many children that need and deserve love and I truly feel a child is out there meant for us.
ReplyDelete