Today I was reading in Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 19-22 really stuck out to me. “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family….” I’ve read this verse several times before but today it has new meaning. As I read it I recalled the moment when we got off the plane with Sasha and waited in the line at customs. We were so tired yet so anxious to walk up to that window with her papers in hand. We were proud of our country and that Sasha was about to become a U.S. Citizen. For us this was one of the most celebrated moments in the process of bringing her home. Court, getting her birth and adoption certificates, picking her up at the baby home, getting her packet at the embassy; those were all memorable and important moments but we did not experience the same sense of pride and joy as we did watching her Russian visa get “THE STAMP”. As I recall those fond memories and the pride we felt at that moment I have to ask myself if God feels that way each time someone accepts Jesus and becomes a member of His family. How glorious a moment that must be in heaven.
I also think to myself how life changed for me at the moment I became a citizen of God’s kingdom. Did I really believe and understand all the opportunities that lie ahead and how different my life would be as a result? We are excited to see what opportunities Sasha will have as an American. Opportunities that would have never been possible living in an orphanage in Russia. It’s a blessing beyond words to know that our obedience to God’s leading has changed the life of one child. Sasha has a new citizenship that will forever change her life. As Christians we get that same opportunity when we become a citizen of God’s kingdom. I don’t think I completely understood the significance of this concept before Sasha’s adoption.
I’ve said before that the process of adoption changes you. I’m also finding that being a parent of an adopted child continues to change you. I feel like we now have a pair of “adoption glasses” on by which we view the world. Similar to wearing 3D glasses at a movie, details in life now stick out a little bit differently. The journey doesn't end with a stamp or a single action. Now we begin the journey of raising Sasha in a home that will once again provide her an opportunity for a new citizenship….one that will lead her to know her Heavenly father.
I also think to myself how life changed for me at the moment I became a citizen of God’s kingdom. Did I really believe and understand all the opportunities that lie ahead and how different my life would be as a result? We are excited to see what opportunities Sasha will have as an American. Opportunities that would have never been possible living in an orphanage in Russia. It’s a blessing beyond words to know that our obedience to God’s leading has changed the life of one child. Sasha has a new citizenship that will forever change her life. As Christians we get that same opportunity when we become a citizen of God’s kingdom. I don’t think I completely understood the significance of this concept before Sasha’s adoption.
I’ve said before that the process of adoption changes you. I’m also finding that being a parent of an adopted child continues to change you. I feel like we now have a pair of “adoption glasses” on by which we view the world. Similar to wearing 3D glasses at a movie, details in life now stick out a little bit differently. The journey doesn't end with a stamp or a single action. Now we begin the journey of raising Sasha in a home that will once again provide her an opportunity for a new citizenship….one that will lead her to know her Heavenly father.
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