I wanted to wait to post this blessing because my daughter was not quite 18. She has just now turned 18 this month and I am grateful and blessed to be able to share our news on this forum.
This past summer we were able to reunite with our daughter. This is the first photo we have ever had of our family as a whole. I want to put some flowery words here to describe the events, but I'm so overwhelmed with emotion that it's difficult. All I can really say is God is faithful, God is so so faithful and when he makes a promise he keeps it. He is so good. Praise the Lord who is so good to keep his promises and shows his faithfulness to all of his children. This isn't how I pictured my family. We are still splintered. We are still apart. We haven't been in this daughters' life to watch her grow and become this beautiful young lady that she is, but we have been blessed to never lose her completely and we are blessed to have her now in our lives in this capacity.
What promise was fulfilled? God promised she was my daughter and I would reclaim her and call her daughter.
To the stranger at the mall who took this photo for our family and was party to fulfilling God's promises in my life - I don't know you but I'm grateful you were there and I'm grateful you were able to be party to God's miracle in my life. How many times in my life has the stranger in the mall been my worst enemy. More than I can count. How many times has the stranger been my attacker, been my condemner, my judge and my jury. But this time, stranger in the mall, without even knowing it you were able to be a participant in God's blessing, in God's will and his hope for a future. You got to be a witness to the biggest miracle in my life and you didn't even know it. In this moment, approaching this stranger to ask her to take a photo of us, in that moment I reclaimed my daughter. I said to that stranger "It's my daughters first day of work, would you please take a photo of all of us?" (All of that was true btw, it was Lizzie's first day back to work as their season had just started). Without even realizing it this stranger got to be a part of documenting this moment and she got to be witness to the very true and real claim that this child here, she is MY child, she is fruit of MY womb and I have loved her as a mother every day of her life and will continue to love her as her mother no matter the circumstance.
I may go into detail about our visit later on, but for now I just want to sing the praises of God. God is so good, he loves us so much. He keeps his promises. He restores his people. He is the most amazing Father.
In all of this the song that keeps ringing for this season of my life is "One Step Away" by Casting Crowns.
"Lay down, lay down your old chains, Come now and take up your new name, Your best life's up ahead now, You're one step away"
I know this stranger didn't know this, but in that moment I was able to lay down my old chains and take up my new name, Mom. I'm so blessed. I'm just so blessed. Lizzie, I love you and I'm so blessed to be your birth mom and I'm blessed to be a part of your life and I'm blessed to have you in my life. You're a wonderful, sweet, kind, caring, smart, and talented young lady, and if you were none of those things I wouldn't love you any less. The story of how you and I came to both be on this earth was dramatic and hard and hurtful and emotional, but in the end I am so grateful to have you and to be a part of your life and to loudly claim you as MY child, the same way that God is so grateful to be able to claim you as HIS child. Thank you God for entrusting this sweet precious child into my heart and my care. I haven't raised you, but I hope you know I will love and mentor and walk with you through this life if you will continue to let me. I'm not your mom, but I am your birth mom and I am your friend and I love you and intend to be your birth mom and your friend for your entire life. I can't wait to attend your wedding someday. I can't wait to hold your babies someday. I am grateful to be in your life and I want to be a part of your life forever. I love you Lizzie. I love you. And God loves you. He loves you so much. He made your from nothing and he knit you together so that you would have a beautiful wonderful loved and blessed life. I think it's easy to understand a mother loving a child she has raised, and less so easy to understand loving a child you haven't raised. I'm grateful God gave me you, because it helped me to understand how he loves me and you and all of us. He gives us to our parents to be stewarded, but we are his children, and he loves us with all of the amazing true love of a real true father. Don't forget how loved you are. Don't forget how much you have blessed all of those around you and don't forget how blessed you are sweet girl. When you have pains and trials give them to God. God loves you, he wants those pains, and in return he will give you blessings. He is so good and so perfect.
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