We nervously reviewed Isaac’s file. “Central Coordination Disturbance”, extensive hospitalization, moderate developmental delays despite being in a loving foster home, and one heavily photoshopped picture. I wanted to run, fearing we would meet him and would have to say, “no”. It ranks among the greatest fears of my life! A week before meeting him, with anxiety running high, I prayed for God’s peace. I then heard this answer: “Every good and perfect gift is from me (James 1:17), and this little boy is my perfect gift to you. You can choose to open the gift, or not. But if you don’t, you are going to miss out on a great blessing.”
A few days later, we we flew to Bulgaria. Within 30 minutes of meeting him we knew he would be ours forever. God taught me a lot about looking past the file, past the labels, past the needs, past all my excuses as to why I would not be able to parent this child, and to really SEE my son. Him as a person created and loved by God, His perfect gift to us!
Isaac has been home for 8 months now, and he only gets more radiant. The layers of trauma are peeling back, revealing the true boy inside. His smile lights up a room, and his cuddles are scrumptious! Everyone adores him, and we believe he is changing the world with his unfolding story. There are still unknowns in the future regarding his needs, but it doesn’t matter. Isaac is our Bulgarian treasure, no matter what.
I’m so thankful we made the leap.
Do you feel God call you to step out of your carefully formed box a little bit? I encourage you to SEE the child. To TRUST that God will give you all you need. And to RUN. So many Bulgarian children are waiting to be treasured by their forever family.