Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

This Year at Thanksgiving...

I'm thankful that last year at this time I stumbled upon this website:  http://www.reecesrainbow.com/newsite/  and learned of the plight of orphans with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe, whose destiny, if not adopted by age 4, was to live a greatly shortened life span in a mental institution.

I'm thankful that God had already planted the seeds in my and my husband's hearts to expand our family prior to stumbling upon this website. 

I'm thankful that we kept coming back to this little girl's picture on  Reece's Rainbow and that Josi kept pointing to her and saying, "I want her for my sister."


I'm thankful that God had all along been preparing this man's heart to love and raise not just one, but two daughters with special needs.  (If you're newer to our blog, you need to pause here and read my husband's heartfelt, and only, blog post written while in Ukraine getting Nadia:  http://seeingtheupsideofdown.blogspot.com/2010/06/fathers-love-february-11-1998.html)


I'm thankful that Nadia is now home and is sharing sweet moments like this with the sister who 'picked' her for her own.


But mostly I'm thankful for the opportunity to give this little girl a family and to be used by God in such a tangible way to fulfill one of His many purposes as His hands and feet here on earth. 


I'm especially thankful that this Thanksgiving, Nadia is playing in a pile of leaves instead of rocking back and forth in her crib, pulling her hair and banging her head, which at that time were her only sources of amusement.  

In my moment of reflection on being thankful that Nadia has found her way into our hearts and ours into hers as her forever family, I can't help but grieve for the MILLIONS of orphans who spent their Thanksgiving exactly how Nadia did last year--unloved, stuck in a crib, waiting for a family to step out of their comfort zone and bring them home. We all have so much to be thankful for. God has blessed all of us abundantly.  Is it time for you to step out of your comfort zone and reach out to an orphan in need? Perhaps it's not time to bring one of these children into your family but ALL of us can do something. 

Reece's Rainbow is in the midst of their biggest fundraiser for the year.  Please consider donating to an orphan's fund here http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=angel+tree&x=13&y=18 so that those who want to add another blessing to their family can do so...and so not one more orphan has to spend another Thanksgiving alone.  We are God's hands and feet.  He doesn't NEED us to rescue the orphans but thankfully He allows us the PRIVILEGE to be part His plan for their lives so we too can receive the blessings that come along with what He considers to be "pure and faultless religion". 

James 1:27:  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

13 comments:

  1. We found RR about the same time you did - we committed about the same time you did - you got yours a bit earlier than ours (understatement of the year) but here we are a - year later - both of us blessed from head to toe with treasures that God dropped in our laps. Amazing Grace!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice Kristin. A very sweet and touching post. It's so wonderful to see Nadia playing and having fun like a child should be doing. Few of us get glimpses into the lives these kids had before...you and I did, and it's something we'll never get out of our minds or hearts.

    I love the picture of Josi and Nadia. And I love that she chose her. And that you listened.

    Your husbands a pretty good guy too ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your post was very touching. I am so happy for your family, and especially for Nadia!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the wintery background. I, too, am thankful you followed the call and your beautiful Nadia is a treasure to behold:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful post! I just love the picture of Nadia and Josi. I still can't get over how much older Nadia looks since she got home in June. And the smile on her face - precious :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post Kristin! Nothing more to add! Wonderful photos of Nadia too!
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very sweet post! :) Aww Nadia and Josie are gorgeous.Your boys are too :). Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Okay....so HERE I AM :):):):):) See??????

    :)

    Aaaahhhhh....look at that sweetie loving the leaves. It's the simple things, hey? So precious. So thankful that she is home, where she belongs.

    I too wish that more and more people would GO, friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Those pictures were so beautiful. I love the one with Josie looking at Nadia with such joy and love. I wish I were going now SOOO bad but the Lord must have different plans. That is the only solace I have. And contributing. That is a powerful way to feel connected to a child. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I got a sweet little package from a sweet friend in North Carolina today :). Thank you!

    I was just looking at Nadia's profile picture yesterday. It is saved on my computer in my RR file. I edited her picture the same day I edited Alina's. Because they were close in age, both had Ds and were listed right next to each other, I imagined them to be in the same groupa. I remember telling Chris that I was going to have a very hard time leaving Nadia behind. You guys committed to her just a few weeks later. We were so happy!

    The picture of the two girls in the leaves is priceless. You have a very special and beautiful family! xoxoxoxo

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a blessing your sweet girl is and what a transformation, you can see the sparkle in her eyes. I love the picture of your two girls!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Awe! She is so blessed and so are you guys. She is such a cutie pie.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Okay, you had me in tears with the photo of Nadia and Josi in the header! So precious.

    Yes, if not for your family and God's grace, Nadia would still be in a crib with no family, no toys, no love, and no future. May others be inspired by your story to adopt one of this waiting treasures, too.

    It has been such a joy to watch your journey to bring her home. What a blessing to see her blossom now.

    Love your new background. (So sorry. I didn't mean to copy you but also posted it on my blog before I knew you had!) I hope you and your precious family have a blessed Christmas season.

    Much Love,
    Kathie

    ReplyDelete