It's surreal not to know the age or sex of the children Scott and I will start a family with sometime soon. We've passed our adoption homestudy and our next move is to complete the paper work going to Ethiopia, and get on a waiting list. Once on the waiting list, we will wait to get a referral for one or two children under the age of 5. The category seems so vast today. If one of the children is four years old at the time of referral, we could be starting school next fall. And if one of the children is 6 months old, we could be heavily investing in diapers for years to come.
Having 6 nieces and nephews to watch grow, play and celebrate birthdays with has both prepared us and excited us about the prospect of becoming parents to children of all ages. As we continue to pray for God to guide us in our path to adopt, and as the time goes closer to when we may be bringing home children, my imagination grows. I look at girl's hair styles and wonder how curly our children's hair will be. And randomly I'll think 'Is it still too early to buy a swing for our backyard?' It's all silly, but it's now a well-trod bunny trail that my mind keeps taking. And day by day, it seems less strange that children -- age unknown -- will be living with us soon.
How is it that my heart and, by extension, my imagination can feel attached to children I've never seen, and know nothing about? I can only think of it as a grace. A grace straight from the hand of God. What a beautiful way for God to prepare my heart for our children through imagination. It is a wonder.
