Rivers in the desert
Zach and I have been pretty quiet over these last four years as far as sharing many details regarding our adoption journey. Many of you know that our business was birthed in an effort to help bring our daughter home from India in 2014. Adoption is a huge part of our lives and sometimes even feels a bit consuming. A number of you followed our journey for about the first year, viewing photos of our daughter online, reading about the struggles of trauma and laughing along with us at our daughter’s funny antics. As we spent the next four years wading through the unknown we took a big step back from social media in order to respect our daughter’s story. To be really honest I have felt like this was a really good decision for our daughter. We are allowing her to create her own unique online presence when she begins navigating social media as a teenager. As for being the mother of a special needs child, I have struggled with not sharing what our family is walking through, the ugliness of trauma, the amazing success stories and ultimately the feeling of isolation. Even as my fingers type these words, I can feel the all too familiar feeling of tears welling up in my eyes. I am slowly beginning to realize that I can protect my daughter’s story and yet share my struggles as a mother.
I know many of you who are following our jewelry business and our story have personally walked through the journey of adoption or foster care. There is so much trauma and loss and sometimes even the feeling of hopelessness. Then there are those days when after three years of working on riding a bike, your child jumps on and takes off down the road. You of course stand there with your mouth gaping open and tears pouring down your face because in that very moment you experience hope. For many of us it’s simply receiving an unsolicited hug and kiss from our child who for months or even years would not acknowledge our existence. In that moment you can see God writing a redemptive story. You begin to see healing and you begin to feel thankful that God brought you on this journey as you recognize that He chose to use you to bring about the healing. You begin to see that He is making a way in the wilderness and making rivers in the desert. We hold on to those rivers in the desert, especially on those days when it is so dry and empty that we feel no hope.
“Behold I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
We recently spent a week in Kentucky, receiving training to help us on our homeschooling journey with our daughter. We left the conference with hearts overflowing with hope and Isaiah 43:19 tucked in our pockets. A dear friend shared this scripture with us and it has and continues to speak volumes to our season of life. Zach came home and immediately designed this necklace knowing that this scripture was so applicable for so many walking through similar seasons. I hope it resonates with many of you and you can see the way in the wilderness and the rivers being formed in the desert.