Advent Ending: Amber Joy Elizabeth Miller (officially!)

Last year at Christmastime, I wrote about the waiting of Advent.  This year, our wait is nearly over!  On Friday, December 16, our final decree, declaring that Amber Joy is officially ours, was signed!  We are ecstatic knowing that we are finally parents, after 45 months since we first began trying to get pregnant.  I count the almost two years before we even started our adoption journey as part of our adoption story because had we not found out we suffered from unexplained infertility, we would never have our Amber Joy.  I know this might sound strange, but we are 100% fulfilled and content with growing our family through adoption.  I was reminded of our struggle to get pregnant this past week when I had at least two people tell me, "well you know what would be really neat?  If you got pregnant now!"  I could truly, honestly say that I am THANKFUL that God chose not to allow a pregnancy and to rather grow our faith through adoption!  At first, it was hard to let go of the idea that our son or daughter might not look like us, that we may have to deal with birth parents, or that we may not get our child at birth and get to experience the newborn stage.  But now, with Amber Joy finally on her way home, we cannot imagine what life would be like without her.  Children are a blessing from the Lord, no matter how they come into your life. 

Today, my own mom sent me a reminder that I needed to hear.  I come from a long line of worriers.  I have worried for a long time whether I'll be a good mom, comparing myself to others, and wondering whether I'm too old to start this adventure.  We all want our kids to like us to some degree!  I worry about our ability to bond and about how she'll adjust to the weather change, to Justin and me, and just to life in general.  But after reading this from Max Lucado, I felt peace come over me like I had not felt before. 

The virgin birth is more, much more, than a Christmas story. It is a picture of how close Christ will come to you, a mom, as you also bring a child into the world.

Imagine yourself in that story found in Luke 1.  God comes to you and says, “I have a special task for you. A child. A special child that I want to entrust to you. Are you willing to raise this one?”  You stammer, take a breath.“This sounds scary.”  “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you. This child is special to me. He will be a great child.”  You shake your head. “Such an awesome responsibility. I don’t know if I can do it.”  “Nothing is impossible with me.”  You smile. “I am your servant. I’ll do it.”  Do we think only one child received God’s special attention? Sure, only one was his Son, and an angel sent out those special birth announcements, accompanied by an angelic choir singing “Happy Birthday.” Of course God pulled out all the stops for Jesus’ birth.  But children aren’t randomly born to parents. God orchestrates the right children to be born to the right parents.  Being the mom God wants you to be starts with the understanding of how important your job is in God’s eyes. He entrusts you with one of his own children. He chose you out of all the moms in the world for this one child.  Remember, you, too, are highly favored by God himself to receive such a special gift.   

Thank you, Lord, for choosing me to be Amber Joy's mother.  Thank you for choosing Justin to be her father.  And thank you, thank you, thank you, for choosing her to be our daughter.