Family Time

Today we went out to OBX for our periodic "fix". We got to catch up with our church family and worship together. My friend Sam spoke at church about "What Does God Look Like?" I love Sam's talks, because he keeps it simple and puts it in your face without smacking you with it. God looks like Jesus. Jesus, when he was here as a man, showed us how he was kind, gentle, loving, non-judgmental, caring, compassionate, passionate, righteous, strong, forgiving, hardworking, and wise. I could go on for a few pages, but I think I got some of the best ones across.

After church we went to our good friend Brenda's house for lunch and talk time. We spent about an hour at the beach enjoying the sun and taking some pictures. Joey said he would love to move back to the beach because his sinuses almost instantly cleared up after spending time at the beach. Then it was the long ride back home.

Even with all of this...this evening was the best time. We ordered Chinese from our local place and ate dinner together. We always try to have "Family Time" after dinner. It consists of trying to get the children engaged in conversation. It will tend to be mostly the older children, but the little ones will add in at times. Today was especially special to me because the girls were talking about how they missed their mom. They shared about her last days, her inability to speak or get out of bed, and seeing her tears as she lay there (contemplating her death, I'm sure). I can't begin to imagine the agony in her heart knowing that they would soon be orphans; the youngest was only about 3 then. They talked about the differences between our cultures. In Ethiopia children and parents almost never tell each other "I love you", or hug, or kiss. Leah can actually remember the last time she hugged her mom not too long before she died. They talked about how Jaden would hide and when he thought no one was looking, he'd go hold his mom's hand as she lay helpless in her bed. They shared about their extended family and about their relationships with them (not good). They shared about their anxiety and anticipation of coming to America, especially after receiving our pictures.

We shared deep deep love tonight, deeper than anything else I can think of. It is times like these that I don't doubt that we did the right thing. It gives me strength and courage. It makes my heart swell to see the love they still have for their mom and dad. It is a love that they are not ashamed of and are willing to share. This tells me (in a strange way I guess), that they love and trust me and Pam, their new mom and dad.

My Jesus loves me, this I know; because my Jesus show's so!