Upside down

I’ve spent a lot of time lately pondering the innate upside down truths of the Gospel. Dying to live. Loving enemies. The meek inheriting the earth. All of it is foolishness … and yet, I have seen it, lived it, been blessed by it. My story is full of moments where what should not be was, and what man called impossible came to pass.

I bet yours is, too.

In the past month, I’ve held my breath as God has moved mountains in the revealing of the promise He whispered in my ear a year and a half ago now, as I stood next to a rhododendron bush in full bloom and posed for one last photo with my then-complete family. Just behind the photographer, Bible school students scurried in twos, loading our again-winnowed boxes of belongings onto yet another waiting truck. We all forced smiles.

Upside Down

 

After the shot, we stood still just a moment longer, shoulder to shoulder amidst the hustle of a rushed goodbye. I remember looking at each person in our knot and hearing, “I am not done here. Wait.” Then the scene dissolved and I was riding in the middle seat of a truck, Babita’s hand squeezing mine the whole, nauseating ride.

This world is upside down. Any place where governments tell children who are wanted that they cannot be adopted is upside down. Any place where the process to be reunited with the family who so desperately wants you involves jumping through hoops and thousands of dollars is upside down. You will not convince me otherwise.

But…

We are close.

Today is the day Babita, our daughter, could have touched down on U.S. soil and been admitted. Today is the day she could have reclaimed her spot at the dinner table, right between Mary Hannah and Phineas. Today is the day she could have made us laugh with her over-the-top competitiveness at board games, or cringe at her taste in snacks. (Dry, pizza-flavored ramen noodles, anyone?)

Babita is not here today. But, God willing, she will be. Soon.

A humbling number of friends have committed their  prayers and their finances to bringing to fruition yet another of God’s upside down truths: Babita must leave behind the only land she has ever known in order to come home. Yesterday morning, we received two donations that bring us to our estimated need for her first year’s tuition and plane ticket.

We are humbled. We are awed. And we are grateful.

The next step in the journey is interviewing at the U.S. Embassy for a visa. We don’t have a date yet, but as soon as we do, we would covet your prayers.

The story God writes for us so often contains twists, turns, and upside down seasons that leave us wondering where we are headed next. I can’t tell the future, but I am looking forward, and I think I see where the road I’m traveling right now leads: to an updated family photo.