Today is M.'s fifth birthday. We are sooo blessed to know her and have her in our family. She's a very excited little girl. She'll have special time with a friend today and her chosen dinner ("Tuna Noodle Casserole" ha!), cake and presents. I'm sure J. will get some pics up here and some of her own thoughts later, but I wanted to put up a quick note.
Today I'm thinking a lot about her biological parents. I wonder what her pregnancy was like. I wonder what her parents' relationship was/is like? I wonder what the circumstances were that moved her/them to not keep M. I wonder if they named M. anything themselves. I wonder if M. has bio siblings. I wonder if her parents think about her still and if they remember the day of her birth.
It can be tempting to romanticize her parents in my mind. To imagine they'd act and feel how I think I would. But we really have no idea what the circumstances and the motives were. Did they feel sorrow? Did they feel relief? Did they feel anything at all? We just don't know. All of these things are a mystery that we will likely never solve. So I grieve a little today. I grieve at the brokenness in our world that causes such circumstances. I grieve for the holes in M.'s short little life that not one of us can really fill. I grieve for her bio-parents whatever their circumstances.
But, of course, I also rejoice. I rejoice in this little girl who has brought so much joy and laughter into our home. I rejoice in her sweet smile and her infectious laugh. I rejoice in the love she shares with us all. I rejoice in the impact she makes on others. And above all, I rejoice in the God who gave her life and who has made her his own child in Baptism. I rejoice in the God who puts the lonely in families. I rejoice in the God who has so filled our lives with love and laughter.
