Tuesday, November 2, 2010

We made a difference to this one

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a little girl picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the little girl, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The girl replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

The man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the little girl bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, she said…


”I made a difference for that one.”


I ran across that story the other day and it really touched me. November is National Adoption Month, and I've been thinking a lot about our adoption journey today. The picture on the left is a photo I took of Clarissa shortly before we left Korea. This picture brings tears to my eyes every time I look at it. I remember her waking up next to us so confused and scared that morning and how serious that little face was as I took her picture. I can see the fear and confusion so clearly in this photo and it breaks my heart. I have to admit that I had a moment that morning where I asked myself if we were doing the right thing. So many emotions went through my head as we prepared to take that scared little girl from the only life she had known. Watching her grieve was the hardest thing I've ever done. Clarissa wasn't the only one scared that morning.

A year later I can confidently tell you that we absolutely did the right thing. Today I was snuggling with a confident, loving, giggly toddler and kissing her sweet face and I thought back to that morning that we left Korea. I am so grateful that God allowed us to be her parents. It's still amazing to me that we went halfway around the world and came home with this precious little person who fits into our family like she's always been here. Adoption has been a huge blessing in our lives.

It's been over three years since the idea of adoption first popped into my head one morning. When I first started researching it it seemed impossible. So much money, so much paperwork...it seemed so complicated. But one step at a time we climbed that mountain and I'll be forever grateful that we did.

There are so many children out there who need loving homes and I wish that I could bring them all to my house and give them kisses and a warm bed. I can't save all the starfish in the ocean, but I'm really grateful that we were able to make a difference for one of them.

So in honor of National adoption month I just want to say what an amazing blessing adoption has been in our lives If you've ever considered adoption or want more info, here are a few links to get you started:

http://www.adoptioninformation.com/
http://www.adoption.com/
http://www.wacap.org/ (our wonderful agency)
http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/
http://www.wednesdayschild.adopt.org/

5 comments:

Aly said...

That was such a touching post. You definitely made a difference that that beautiful, sweet girl.

Jill said...

Beautifully written.

Brooke said...

Your daughter is so beautiful. What an amazing gift from God:)

Beckest of the BECKS said...

You have opened our eyes so much. We both dream about adopting a child into our family. It was so amazing seeing your whole family interact together. You can tell that it was the perfect match. What a gift. I hope in the next 5-10 years to start the process. Once my health is up to par, we will start looking into it :)

Michele said...

Ahh, it brought tears to my eyes again. I love that the bargain boardies got to live it with you. <3