God gave us one of the best, most amazing gifts ever just a little over a week ago. We got to see Kai’s SMILE for the first time! Not only that, but he was holding the album of our pictures that we sent to him WHILE he was smiling! If you think it’s weird for me to be so excited over some teeth on a computer screen, then you obviously haven’t had the privilege of getting to know your kid through pictures and random phrases while waiting to meet them. Don’t get me wrong, we have loved ALL of the pictures of our sweet guy, but after seeing so many snapshots of him frowning or looking annoyed that someone was in his face snapping his picture, I just sort of started aching to see some joy on his cute face. I started imagining what his smile looks like. I wondered what his teeth looked like. Then I naturally wondered if he had any teeth. (Just kidding, they already told us he had teeth.) After a while I started actually praying that God would send us a smiling picture. And I felt a little silly. I knew it shouldn’t be that important to me. But I wanted to see his smile so badly.
And God heard. And He cared. And He answered.
How often do I not ask Him for something because I decide it is unimportant to Him? Or silly? Or, how often do I actually ask but then don’t think He will answer?
I pray that I will always remember the day He sent us Kai’s smile. That He cares about the small things. That He sees. That He loves to give good gifts.
“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘The God Who Sees,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.’” Genesis 16:13
“Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts, You will listen carefully.” Psalm 10:17
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights…” James 1:17
And speaking of gifts…
We are able to send Kai one package every three months. It has to weigh less than a pound, be flat, and fit into a one-gallon Ziploc bag. It can’t make noise or be of “high value.” Talk about restrictions! The pictures and gifts we send him are his first “glimpse” of us. So no pressure. Here is what we have mailed him so far:
We are now in month five of waiting since our match, and the average wait times for approval are now 5-10 months. Please keep praying for us and for Kai as we wait for first approval!
Nine Thousand Miles 