Having adopted two kids at two different times from the same country may seem to some that everything is similar or even the same. Its not.
Each of our children have very different stories. Both equally beautiful, messy, hard, yet they are both filled with so much love. Both of our kids are so incredibly loved by not only our family, our entire village, but by their birth families.
Zahra was born in a remote village of Ethiopia. When I saw her precious face on a waiting child list I knew she was meant to be our daughter. We've always taken a long time to name our kids. Meaning is very important and today as I begin writing a bit of her story and knowing what we now know her name has even more significance than the day we chose it. God knew.
Zahra Belaynesh Reign
Zahra is the african form of Sarah meaning "Princess", Sarah is also one of my closest friends and a big part of our "village". Belaynesh is her given Ethiopian name and means "Above All". Reign means "God is sovereign". Put together "His Princess, He is above all sovereign".
Zahra wants God to be glorified in her story and wants the world to know how proud she is of her heritage and the things God has done in her life and so are we! We are humbly sharing the raw and real. Her story is beautiful, we want to empower her, to teach her to be bold, we want her to be proud of her story, where she comes from, and there is no shame in sharing truth. (there are MANY things we won't share but some we are) I know that others are walking a similar road and we pray this brings hope and light to those wrestling through the hard to see the beauty.
Zahras true story and what we were told by our agency didn't match. We choose joy, we trust in Gods sovereignty, and we've done all we can do to ensure what her families desire was for her. (I ask that you keep your negative comments to yourself, there is beauty from ashes, this is our families story and we pray it only gives you hope in your own story if you're walking this beautiful hard as well.)
Today we walked the hard and the beautiful. Together. Hand in hand. Our daughter is braver than any other nine year old I've ever met. She heard hard things, she embraced hard things, she saw beauty, she walked boldly into the village she spent the first 4 years of her life in, she was filled with love and grace as she embraced her mom, her dad, and her siblings. She freely shed small tears at different points. When asked what advice her brother had for her since he'd walked it just two days before he said "just cry when you need to don't hold it in like I did, it'll make you feel better". She did just that and it was beautiful.
(This Zahra smash is priceless to me, her smile was worth all the work to get to this place)
(This Zahra smash is priceless to me, her smile was worth all the work to get to this place)
Today I saw Jesus in a whole new light. I saw Jesus in a rural village in Ethiopia. I saw Jesus in each hug and kiss, I saw Jesus in the coffee that was served, I saw Jesus in the false banana leaf paste they served us but we couldn't eat, I saw Jesus in the brokenness, I saw Jesus in the dancing, I saw Jesus in the tears that a precious mama shed as she hugged her baby girl. I saw Jesus as I sat across from my daughters biological parents as they wept telling us how grateful they are that we're raising their daughter to love Jesus, how evident it is that we love her so very much and how grateful they are that we would bring her back to see them. I saw Jesus as her family shared their hopes and dreams for Zahra, I saw Jesus even in the moment that my daughter proudly told her family she wanted to be a dolphin trainer or a model (the model part was new for us too) even though I knew they really wanted her to be a doctor.
(watching Z share her family book with her mama was priceless)
One thing was obvious throughout this whole day. So. Much. Joy. Its obvious in these pictures and I really just cannot say enough about this opportunity. This was so good for everyones soul. So. Good.
(Sometimes all of the people and all of feelings are overwhelming and you need to weep, for the good, for the hard)
(the language barrier was frustrating on both sides, but God met us even there and grace abounds)
Jesus was there through my tears as Zahras friend she played with every day prior to leaving the village came to see her. He was there when I asked her to sit with us and we took fun pictures and selfies as we coaxed a smile. He was there when she disappeared without a goodbye. I saw my daughter in this precious girl, my heart torn that she lost her friend and now the language barrier kept communication at bay. Yet she was there. Present.
(watching Z share her family book with her mama was priceless)
One thing was obvious throughout this whole day. So. Much. Joy. Its obvious in these pictures and I really just cannot say enough about this opportunity. This was so good for everyones soul. So. Good.
(Sometimes all of the people and all of feelings are overwhelming and you need to weep, for the good, for the hard)
(the language barrier was frustrating on both sides, but God met us even there and grace abounds)
Jesus was there through my tears as Zahras friend she played with every day prior to leaving the village came to see her. He was there when I asked her to sit with us and we took fun pictures and selfies as we coaxed a smile. He was there when she disappeared without a goodbye. I saw my daughter in this precious girl, my heart torn that she lost her friend and now the language barrier kept communication at bay. Yet she was there. Present.
I saw Jesus in my daughter as she embraced her biggest sisters who traveled for two days to see her. As they ran across the grass throwing down their head coverings to embrace the little girl they hadn't seen in five years. I saw Jesus in the eyes of the baby who made my daughter an aunt and I saw Jesus as her mama handed me her only grandchild so I could swoon over his precious face. Watching my daughter hold her sweet nephew and the look of emotion on her face. Jesus was there.
Z has long said that her oldest Ethiopia sister reminded her of Nichol. Today I saw why as this precious sister engaged all the kids in the village getting them to sing, playing a water bucket drum and singing praises to Jesus. It was obvious by her personality why Z compared the two. Really no words. Just more of Gods grace and sovereignty.
(one of my very favorite moments of this day)
A mama and all her girls. Priceless.
These sisters were PRECIOUS and loved getting to sit and talk to Z despite the frustration of using two translators to translate three languages.
Baby Fekadu
(we don't have to wonder where Z gets her height, her uncle is at least 6'8" at our best guess)
(we don't have to wonder where Z gets her height, her uncle is at least 6'8" at our best guess)
Seeing the family resemblance was incredible. I loved watching Zahra interact with each family member. These are a few of my favorites.
Grampa.
Aunts/Cousins
Sisters. Their mannerisms - identical. Build. The same. Looks. Obvious.
As I sat across from my daughters parents who made an adoption plan for her five years earlier I wept. I get to raise this precious girl. I get to be her mommy, I get to hold her hand and catch her tears, her daddy gets to twirl her around at the father/daughter dance, he gets to stay up late working on school projects, he gets to teach her to drive, he gets to walk her down the aisle one day. Today I just needed to know that they wanted that. That they fully intended for us to raise their daughter. Today they gave us that. It was clear this was their choice and they couldn't be happier that we were her parents. I have to rest there. They wanted a different life for their youngest child and God sovereignly entrusted us with this sweet girl, with the heaviness of her story, and with the weight of raising her to know who she is in Christ despite circumstances.
Today our family grew immensely. We're raising their daughter who is so very clearly loved. Today our daughter saw her biological parents and her adoptive parents embrace, talk, and just be. All was right in her world. All of the questions and struggles in her heart were okay in that moment.
Enat (mother in Amharic) necklace left as a reminder of how loved she is by God, by us, and by her girl.
The emotions of the day are real and overwhelming. Trying to process as an adult is difficult, I can't imagine everything she was feeling. At the end of all of this and to sum it up Zahra said she doesn't understand a lot of things but she knows that God loves her and wants whats best for her. That doesn't make things easy or keep the questions from rising up but it does create rest. Rest in the sovereignty of God that He loves us more than anyone else.
Everything here is shared with permission from my resilient, brave, precious daughter Zahra. Thank you to our village on both continents, to my amazing older children who helped make this trip possible. To Jessica Oh of whom we owe the gratitude for these pictures. Thank you for walking into the hard and beautiful with us. PC: Jessica Oh Photography
3 comments:
Absolutely beautiful. Our Selah is terrified any time we talk about the possibility of going to visit her birth mom....fear of hurting people she loves, I think. I'm so glad to be able to share these beautiful photos with her! Thanks for sharing your story.
Please thank Zahra for sharing her story with us and the world. It is beautiful and precious and touching and it gives so much hope that someday we can offer this to our daughter. It is so obvious how loved she is.
Mimi
http://thisdomesticateddiva.com
Thanks so much for sharing this story!! We adopted from ET as well and can enter in so much!! It is rare to have adopted a childe who has both biological mother and father alive (like one of ours) and even more that they are together!! I cd see this being hard for Zahara to process, as well as you and your husband!!! I love to see these people so welcoming!!! Would love to return with my kids one day!!!! Hope this bring peace and help to healing for Z!
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