Sunday, June 6, 2010

More Than Just "Relative"-ly Important

(All of the following photographs are from the celebration of Joe and Lissie's high school graduation... more about that in a post to come...)


God "places the lonely in families." (Ps. 68:9)

For orphaned children who are adopted this means you not only get the dream-come-true of immediate family, but you also get God's gift of extended family.

You get...


...aunts, uncles and cousins and...


...more cousins.


You get...



...aunts from Kansas and aunts from Texas...



...aunts willing to carve out time for you.


You get...


...a grandpa who teaches you important things--
like how to tie a tie
and how to oil squeaky doors,
who notices how much taller you are
and how much deeper your voice is
since you were last together.


You get...



...a nana who models what it looks like to love others by serving them (and we love that she always brings pumpkin bread when she visits).


You get...



...a grandma whose marriage to Grandpa Charley set the tone for what it means to be family.




You get...



...Aunt Jean, who is always FOR you.


You get...



...Uncle John, who brags about you to his friends.

You get...


...a place to belong and people to belong to.



Extended family:
Never underestimate what a blessing you are to our former orphans.

Never underestimate your role in the healing taking place in their lives following the neglect and abandonment they've experienced. Your love is powerful! Thank you for so readily opening your hearts to our adoptees.

You are more than just 'relative'-ly important! You are a gift from God!

We love you!

~Mr. and Mrs. Beaver

2 comments:

Natalie said...

What a great post. Made me cry.

hennfamily said...

How preciously and beautifully said. This was a powerful post that reminds me of the blessing of extended family.