Thanksgiving

Whew! We made it through Thanksgiving. Almost Christmas break, almost Christmas break. For those who don't know, on top of my teaching schedule (which is relatively light), I do technical production for about 14 major events from Sept. to April, plus parent nights, awards assemblies, special events etc. As you can imagine, it is fairly wall-to-wall and leaves Anna (God bless her) to be a single parent much of the time. YY and I make the most of every gap in the schedule I can find, but Anna still bears the bulk of the load right now.
No complaints, mind you. We knew what it would be like when we chose to adopt. The school has gone out of it's way to be accommodating to me and they have been very generous. We weighed the cost of this tower before we started building. Special needs adoption would mean that Anna would have to leave her job. Working at my school would mean I could not pick up another job. Our income would go to half and Anna's workload would double (at least).
We could have chosen for me to find another job that paid more or with a less demanding schedule, but starting all over would have meant years of delay in the next adoption as my work history stabilized again. We could have chosen a less demanding special need (in either adoption). But as we weighed the cost, we were convinced that the time was now...and the child was FX.

And I am Thankful. We walked a difficult path early in our marriage and it made our marriage stronger. Trusting God, day by day, for even the food that you will eat has a way of strengthening a marriage. You both are cling by a thread, but you both recognize that it is the only thread there is. I could spend days telling you about all the sublime and miraculous ways that God cared for us in those days. Just get me started. His faithfulness is unbelievable...His ways of providing were pretty unbelievable too! (honestly, don't get me started unless you really have the time. I love to tell those stories.)

And so I preach this to myself and not to you. This post is to remind me to be Thankful for the uncertain, the impossible and the insurmountable nature of bringing FX home. We have been here before. Many times before. It tested our nerves, our faith and our marriage. It tested our will and sense of what was fair in the world. It rewrote almost every scrap of my philosophy and Theology. But it made me a man, and I would not have been the father my boys needed without being refined in that crucible.

I am Thankful that we get to do it again. I am thankful that this will be forever a part of my son's story. I am Thankful. When he wonders at cruelty or hardship, or feels like he should just give up, I am thankful that he will know that God has already conquered the uncertainty, confounded the impossibility, and placed his flag right on the peak of that insurmountable mountain.

I wish it was easy, but for his sake; for YY's sake; and for my sake I am Thankful that it isn't. I can't wait tell this story. You are my witnesses. Hold on for the ride and see what He does.

Happy Thanksgiving.