That picture is from last month and my 3 year old daughter's first two weeks of swim lessons.
She's floating on her back. Pretty good for a 3 year old, but not mind-blowing, unless you know her story.
That little girl lived in an orphanage in Ethiopia 9 months ago!
She was a female orphan over the age of infancy in a 3rd world country. A pretty low state of being by the world's standards with typically a terrible life prognosis.
So, every time I see her achieve a regular-American-kid milestone, it leaves me in awe of our miracle-working God!
She has come so far! And anyone who has spent time with her would tell you, this little girl can take on the world. She has a future and a hope, not only with her Heavenly Father someday, but here on this very earth, this side of eternity! Without the chains of poverty or the stigma of the term "orphan" and with the security and love of a family, a whole new world was opened up to her.
He redeemed her life.
Not us. Him!
Please hear me out on this. We fall short every single day. The only thing we did out of the ordinary was say "Yes" to an extraordinary God.
And now we get a front row seat to every day miracles.
I want her to be a regular kid. I don't want her to feel strange or singled-out. But sometimes I just want a banner to exclaim how amazing it is that she fits right in with "regular" kids despite her very irregular first 3 years of life.
Today we visited her new preschool class, the one she'll attend 2 days per week starting next Monday. Her teachers taught my older 3 kids, they know some of her story, enough that together we shared some moments of awe today watching Little Girl take to her new classroom.
God's in the business of redemption. He changes lives!
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
Find more Wordful Wednesday here.
Great shot- and even better story.
ReplyDelete