My husband and I spent the last week in New York celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary :) It was a fantastic time, packed full of sweet memories and moments. It's funny but I always find I learn a lot of lessons while vacationing, perhaps because I'm out of our normal routines and comforts. I tend to come back inspired and invigorated, which I guess is exactly what a good vacation should do.
This isn't really a lesson. It is just one tiny thought that emerged, and it happened on our flight home. Our plane sat three to a side, and our third seat was filled by a young kid who was traveling alone, flying for the first time, on his way to visit family in California. He was a sweet boy, a soon-to-be seventh grader, friendly and happy to have an adult nearby to explain the ways of the plane and talk with to pass the time. I too was quite happy to offer my "expertise" and be a friend, even if only for the six hours on the plane.
So, the thought was this: I could love a kid like this. I could be the adult for some child who needs one. I could open my heart easily, perhaps more freely than I sometimes think I could.
And when Robby helped him get his music player out of his bag and was kind and sweet to him, I thought, He could do this, too.
It's a tiny thought, as I said. Adopting or fostering is no small decision, and as I've shared, we never went into our marriage thinking we would be a couple who would pursue that. I still dream of having a child who looks like me or my husband, of carrying a baby in my own body, of experiencing God's healing.
But in the last couple of years, my prayers have included not only pleas for a biological child, but pleas for open, willing hearts to go and do whatever God has for us. I know God is going to answer us, and so I thank Him for the ways He speaks to us, even when His voice comes unexpectedly on a plane flight home.
