I look just like my Daddy!

I was reading an article online from our local paper this morning. It was a sweet story about a couple that already had 3 children, but felt called to adopt three little boys (ages 3-8) from Ukraine. The boys had been in different orphanages for about a year and missed each other terribly. Even though they speak Russian, one could just look at the picture of those smiling faces to know how happy they were! It was the neatest picture seeing them get off the plane together.

My former pastor and his wife adopted their son from Romania. He was 2 1/2 when they adopted him. The pastor told a story once about how his son would "steal" everyones food and hide it. They didn't understand until it dawned on them, that with the orphanage he had been in, food was scarce. You ate what you had quickly before anyone else got it. This behavior went on, and pastor wasn't sure what to do....then an idea occurred to him after seeing his toddler son with a small cake donut. He made a necklace out of some yarn, and looped it through the small donut. He let his son wear it around the house....food was always where he could see it, or eat it, if he so chose. After a couple of weeks of this, the little boy finally understood that his basic need for food would always be met. The "visual" of the donut showed him the "invisible" love and stability that his new parents were giving him.

Some friends of mine adopted two little girls from China. The oldest daughter was 4 when I had her in Junior Kids Church. She was bubbly and full of energy! (a.k.a a chatterbox) Her mom told me the cutest story about her. Her mom and dad had gotten involved with a local group of parents that had adopted Chinese children. They would meet at the park and play etc.... Well, one day one of the other parents came up to the little girl and said, " Sweetie, aren't you glad to see and play with other children that look just like you?" To which she innocently replied, " I look just like my daddy!" How touching is that? (her father is tall with light brown hair and fair skin and her mom is a fair skinned natural blond.) It just goes to show that children many times don't see the differences, they just see the similarities....and that real love truly can be blind.