The Wall of Jericho a.k.a. Pobby

So Mati and I were reading in her little story Bible about Joshua and the wall of Jericho tonight. Her Bible has cute pictures in it, and Mati is very interactive as we read. Of course, she's not quite 2, so I really have to make things pretty exciting as we read to keep her attention. And I also have to expect several interruptions and distractions during the story as well. She likes to point at the pictures and say the names of the things she recognizes. For instance, the picture in the story tonight has a cow in the corner (see picture below).

 

On a typical story night, she would point to the cow and proudly announce "cow." Generally she will repeat herself, "Cow...cow...cow...cow..." until I acknowledged that aforementioned picture is indeed a cow and she is right.

Tonight, however, she completely ignored the cow and instead pointed to the tunnel in the wall and announced "Pobby".

I corrected her and said "That's the wall of Jericho." She looked at me and repeated "Pobby." Now she had a pacifier in her mouth, so the word was a bit garbled and I thought perhaps I just didn't understand what she was saying. I took the pacifier out and clarified again: "That's a tunnel in the wall." Once again, she looked at me (her expression and tone of voice were becoming patronizing at this point) and repeated "Pobby." I really don't know why I thought it a worthwhile activity to try to argue with a 2 year old, but I attempted once more to try to correct her: "No Mati, that's not a potty...that's a tunnel! See? It's a tunnel in the wall of Jericho." By this time, I could kinda see what she was talking about, so as she once again looked at me like I was crazy (I'm pretty sure she nearly rolled her eyes at me this time) and repeated her insistence that it was indeed an image of a toilet bowl, I decided to let it go. And if nothing else, I had a good laugh before tucking her in. What do you think? Tunnel or potty?

Sweet sister

The final part of Matani's "getting ready for night-night" ritual is when we sit in the rocking chair: her snuggled up with her big fleecy blankie and me sweating profusely as that big fleecy blankie reminds me that our house sits at 85 degrees until the air conditioning comes on at 8:00p.m. and makes me wish her blankie was a thin cotton sheet. But wait...that's not really what I wanted to blog about. So back to bedtime ritual: we cuddle in the rocking chair and read her Bible, pray, and then rock while we sing worship songs for a few minutes before I tuck her into bed.

Praying for Mikaiya has been a part of our bedtime ritual for a while now, but it's more special now that we have a face to match to her name. So tonight as we sat, we held the picture of her that I keep on the wall above her bed. I asked Matani if she wanted to pray for Mikaiya and she started stroking the face in the picture and saying "Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you..." over and over and over again. In Mati's little toddler words it sounds like "Jejush wuv oo" and it may be that those were the sweetest words I've ever heard. My own eyes blurred with tears as Mati then once more put her sweet face to the picture and kissed it.

What's in a name and Falling in love

I love the rich meaning and significance that is often given to the names of people in the Bible. Names were used as both curses and blessings. And many names were prophetic...a parent's prayer for the future of their child. As I chose Matani's name, my decision was based largely on it's meaning: "The one who steals from death." "The one who saves."

When I began the adoption process again in February of this year, I immediately began praying about and considering what name to give my new daughter. As I prayed, I felt the Lord speaking to me about the name which I believe He has chosen for her: Mikaiya. It means "Who is like God?" (literally: "Who is like Yahweh?"). Her birth name (which I can't share publicly until the court proceedings are finalized and she's officially a Heller) means "full of grace" and will remain as her middle name.

This means that when hers and Mati's full names are combined, the meaning will be: "Who is like God? The One who is full of grace; the One who steals from death and brings forth life."

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Have you ever experienced the puzzling and wondrous sensation of falling in love with someone you've never even met? I imagine that all of you who have had children, whether biologically or adopted, have experienced this phenomenon. I remember pondering this over and over again during Matani's adoption, and now I find myself experiencing it again. My heart is full of love for this precious little 4 year old, and I ache for her to be "mine" and to be able to wrap my arms around her. I see this love for her sprouting in the rest of our family as well.

My sister-in-law told me that a few nights ago, my precious 4 year old niece was praying for her newest cousin before going to bed. Without any prompting from her parents, she prayed that God would take care of Mikaiya, give her lots of food, and that He would heal her heart. I think my niece must comprehend the pain and brokenness that would come from being left without a family at her age. The Lord has given her a heart of compassion for this little girl her own age whom she's never met, yet will soon be related to her. Yes, Lord...heal my daughter's heart.

I have a picture of Mikaiya framed and hanging above the bed that will be hers in the room she will share with Matani. Several times a day I will help Mati climb up on the bed so she can look at her sister and practice saying her name. Tonight before getting into her own bed, she climbed up to look at her sister's face again. As she stood there, she put her hand on the glass and said, "Awwww...", then leaned forward and kissed Mikaiya's face. Yes, Lord...bond these two girls together as sisters.

So yes, the Heller family is falling in love. Please continue to pray for the process to go quickly and smoothly. Specifically, I ask that you would pray that Mikaiya is able to come home by Christmas of this year. I have no way of knowing if that's within the realm of natural possibilities, but I do know that it's within the reach of our All-powerful God. And who is like Him, after all?

Another beginning and another journey...

If you've found your way to this blog, you probably already know some of the story of our family adoption journey, but allow me to briefly refresh your memory of the previous part of our journey before I begin to tell you about the upcoming twists and turns in our travels through life.

About 2 years ago, I returned to the U.S. after living, working, and ministering in NW India for a couple of years. I returned, knowing that God had big, exciting, and perhaps slightly terrifying plans for the next stage of my life. I'd felt Him calling me to adoption for a while, but in the summer of 2009, I knew that it was finally time to pursue this dream. With the Lord's help, and amazing support from many of you reading this, I brought home my beautiful little Matani Enat just one year later. It is hard to adequately put into words how wonderful and challenging my life with her has been this past year. I told a friend, "My worst days with her are still better than my best days before I had her." That is so very true, though it doesn't mean that my life is easy or simple. Being a working single mother holds a lot of challenges, but through it all the Lord is faithful and life is good.

Now I am thrilled and excited to tell you that another little African princess will be joining our family. A beautiful little 4 year old girl from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) will hopefully be coming home to our family sometime within the next 6 months or so. I am amazed at the Lord's hand in all of this. He has clearly led the way on this continuing adventure, and His plans surprised and overjoyed me. I can't wait for this little darling to join us, and while she waits to come home, I ask that you would pray with me for her health and safety. Please pray that the process will go smoothly, without complications, and that I will be able to bring her home quickly.

Thank you for your continued interest in our lives. I know it means you love us, and I am blessed by that. I hope you know that we love you in return. Our lives are richer because of you.