These are the names of two young girls we met today at the pool, sisters, both adopted from China when they were babies at 11 months old. They sought us out and wanted to talk with us and interact with us. Ronnie, who is 14, was very talkative and inquisitive about our little girls. She wanted to know if they were sisters, and she needed to understand how they were both 5! Katie, who is 12, was much more quiet and simply observant.
I welcomed the opportunity to ask them a few questions, and I couldn't help but picture Lindy and Joy in about 10 years. Ronnie asked if our girls knew that they were "orphan children". Well, that question about broke my heart, not for my girls, but for these young souls. I, of course, quickly responded that they were orphans no more, but rather treasured daughters. I prayed that these words of truth would resonate in these young girls' hearts, and they were not only for my daughters, but for these daughters.
When we talked about their feelings toward China, they each had opposite feelings and perspectives. Ronnie was blatantly "anti China" claiming to want nothing to do with it. She never wants to go there, she doesn't know which province she is from, she is not interested in the culture, and she says she doesn't even know how to pronounce her Chinese name. Katie, on the other hand, speaks the language without ever taking a lesson, knows the names of the provinces where she and her sister were born, loves the people and culture of China, and she admitted that she feels a sense of loss. It was clear to me that Ronnie's defenses are up, and it is probably just too hard to think about the China party of her story. She professed that she is just thankful to have a family, and she said that if she hadn't been adopted she would probably not be alive. Katie clearly had pain in her eyes as she shared that it is hard to know where her life began and to have so many questions without answers.
I stored up this divine meeting today in my mind and in my heart. I met two brave girls today, each unique and special made in the image of God. I pray for wisdom to guide our own daughters, who happen to be born in China, as they grow up and wrestle with not only the painful answers to their questions, but the lack of answers. We will point them to the only One who truly has the answer to their heart's cry. I pray that they will know and believe that our loving, good, sovereign God had a perfect plan for their lives since the beginning of time. We are eternally grateful that He chose us to be a part of it!
