Today's the Day

Today’s the Day…this term, and inspiration for my blog title, was coined by a 2^nd grader.  Not any 2^nd grader though, he is the wonderful young boy my husband mentors at the school where I teach.  Tom eats lunch with this boy, who I will call Ben, on Fridays.  When he was in 2nd grade, Ben looked forward to Tom coming so much that he would come to my room and tell me how many days until mentor day.   On Monday I would hear, “4 more days”.  On Tuesday, “3 more days”.  On Wednesday he announced, “2 more days”.  Of course on Thursday he proclaimed, “1 more day”.  Then Friday arrived and the day that we waited for had come, “Today’s the Day!”  I would hug him and say how excited Tom was to eat lunch with him.  Usually we would check the menu and see what scrumptious low sodium, 3 oz protein, meal would be provided in the cafeteria.  Ben would almost always tell Tom how much he enjoyed the lunch, even declaring his love for lima beans (pretty special kid).

Even if we don’t all love lima beans (I for one cannot get excited about lima beans) we can find joy in the small things in our lives and be grateful for what we have been given.  That gift may be friends, laughter, love, a home, a family, or even....lima beans.  

Today, as I start my blog, remember I am not well versed in blogging and rarely write for others (I even avoid posting on Facebook).  Yet there are those times when you feel that it is time to stretch out and try something new.  So many people have blessed us on our journey to adopt and I have been changed forever.  This has been a road of faith thus far and I am more than positive that it will continue to be a road paved with the fingerprints of God.  Each step of the process has been eye opening.  I have learned more about domestic and international adoption, experienced the paperwork process (I now understand why they call it the great paper chase), spent time with a dear friend in the Chinese Consulate getting paperwork processed, and waited many a day for THE phone call; THE phone call sharing news of a child half way around the world that needed a forever family. When the phone call did come I was totally unprepared for the overwhelming feelings I would experience.  You name it, I probably felt it. Soon after seeing her picture, we were sent 8 videos of our daughter.  8 is a huge number of videos to receive.  After several more steps we are nearing our time to go and meet, touch, hug, smile with, comfort, love, and bring Chloe home.  Much like Ben, we have been counting down the days and the time is drawing near. I will try to update via this blog while we travel. We would love for you to come on this journey with us.

Pray that God prepares her heart, as life will change drastically for her.  Pray, also, that God prepares us so we can care for her!

Today’s the day…what are you going to do with today?  I have spent many a day thinking about what will happen tomorrow, what I need to do tomorrow, or thinking about the possibility of a problem that may arise tomorrow.  Yet, today’s the day.  Today’s the day we waited on yesterday, and tomorrow isn’t today yet.  Let’s live today!