Ok, as most of you know or can tell by our picture, we have adopted three beautiful children. They were all very young (babies) when we brought them home. So as far as they remember we are the only “family” they know. However, as children get older they start to notice differences, namely skin color in our case, and start asking questions. So naturally we answer with honest loving answers, example “Mom is my other mom pretty?” Answer “Yes, she is very pretty, a lot like you.” Then she smiles. Of course she looks a lot like her birth mom so it was an honest answer. Anyway, sometime you just get stuck and don’t know what to say and what not so say and just pray that God guides you in what His plans are for you to say and how to approach what a special gift they are and that no matter what it was ultimately His plan for them to be in this family.
That being said I want to share with you a story God provided for the children and me. Let me back up for a minute and give you a little more history, we home school and started three weeks ago, when coloring people’s skin color started to matter, “she is brown like me mom not yellow like you”….Keep in mind all of these questions have been arising in the past few weeks. One of our supplemental story times comes from this wonderful book by Nancy Nicholson called Devotional Stories for Little Folks. (Side note, it is a great book!) God knew we needed help so here is what He shared with us on our lunch break yesterday. Now I want to share with you.
Child of the Promise
Dad was home and leading devotions when he suddenly asked, “Who can tell me what a covenant is?”
Waving his hand wildly, and bouncing up and down, Greg blurted, “I know! I know what’s a gumamint!”
Meg giggled, and Seth rolled his eyes.
Laughing, Dad said, “Not government, Greg, but covenant.”
Isn’t it a kind of promise, Dad?” offered Seth.
“Yes! It’s a very special kind of promise. And when God makes a covenant, or a promise, He always keeps it.”
Dad opened his well-worn Bible. “Listen to God’s words: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel……says the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
“Your mother and I want to tell you about a special promise, or covenant, that we are making as a family. You are going to have a new sister, and we are making a promise that by adoption, she is going to be “our people.” She’s going to be a part of our family forever.”
“Ya-hoooo!” shouted Meg, hopping around the living room with excitement. “Seth and Greg have each other to be brothers, but I’ve never had a sister. We can play with dolls and have tea parties, and she can share my room.’
“Yeah, and we can chase you both with frogs,” teased Seth. “When do we get to start collecting frogs, Dad?”
“No frogs just yet,” Mother warned, “but lots of prayers, and love, and understanding. She’ll be home in two weeks.”
“Where is my new sister?” asked Greg. “What’s her name? Does she have a bike?”
“Her name is Rebecca, she doesn’t have a bike, and right now she is living in another state, with a foster family,” answered Dad. “For all three years of her life, she has been moved form one place to another, but has never had a real home or a real Father and Mother. Your mom and I have been praying about this for a long time. We believe that Our Lord has chosen Rebecca to be part of our family.”
“But how can she be part of our family if she wasn’t already born in our family?” Meg looked a little uncertain.
“Don’t you remember that Greg wasn’t born in our family?”
“Oh, I guess I forgot because I was little when he came. I just know he’s my brother just like Seth. When we’re happy, and when we get mad at each other, we’re still brothers and sister first.”
“Brothers and sisters for better or worse, a little like this?” —Mother pointed to her wedding ring.
“Where Daddy and I part of the same family before we got married?”
“Oh, no. You didn’t even live in the same state when you were kids,” Seth responded.
“That’s right,” replied Dad as he reached for Mother’s hand. “But when we became husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony, we made a covenant with each other. That covenant was a special promise to be husband and wife, one family, forever.”
“Mommy adopted Daddy?” marveled Greg ad he worked his fingers through a new hole in his shirt.
“It’s sort like this, Greg,” Seth said slowly, “I guess that God has different ways of bring families together, but every family has God as its Father. And then He makes our families strong by helping us keep our promises to Him and to each other.”
“Yes, I think that’s pretty close, Seth,” Dad nodded. “You notice that the Bible verse ser read said that God would put His laws in our minds and hearts. When we know His laws, and that His love guides us, it is easier to do what is right and keep our promise to each other.”
Mother tugged Dad’s hand and reminded him, “Don’t forget that we think of the Church as a Mother who teaches us about our Heavenly Father. And Holy Scripture tells us that we are all adopted into His family.”
“I get it,” cried Meg. “Rebecca is going to be adopted twice. We are adopting her, and God is adopting her, too. She will be a Peterson, and she’ll be a child of God—and a “child of the promise.””
“Oh, boy!” Greg clapped. “Can I ride her bike?”
New Vocabulary
covenant: a very special type of forever promise
adoption: a way of bring someone completely and forever into a new family, just the same if they had been born into that family
“this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write then on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Heb. 8: 10 & 12
“…God sent his Son…so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son….” Gal. 4: 4
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I we did. Have a great weekend!
That being said I want to share with you a story God provided for the children and me. Let me back up for a minute and give you a little more history, we home school and started three weeks ago, when coloring people’s skin color started to matter, “she is brown like me mom not yellow like you”….Keep in mind all of these questions have been arising in the past few weeks. One of our supplemental story times comes from this wonderful book by Nancy Nicholson called Devotional Stories for Little Folks. (Side note, it is a great book!) God knew we needed help so here is what He shared with us on our lunch break yesterday. Now I want to share with you.
Child of the Promise
Dad was home and leading devotions when he suddenly asked, “Who can tell me what a covenant is?”
Waving his hand wildly, and bouncing up and down, Greg blurted, “I know! I know what’s a gumamint!”
Meg giggled, and Seth rolled his eyes.
Laughing, Dad said, “Not government, Greg, but covenant.”
Isn’t it a kind of promise, Dad?” offered Seth.
“Yes! It’s a very special kind of promise. And when God makes a covenant, or a promise, He always keeps it.”
Dad opened his well-worn Bible. “Listen to God’s words: “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel……says the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
“Your mother and I want to tell you about a special promise, or covenant, that we are making as a family. You are going to have a new sister, and we are making a promise that by adoption, she is going to be “our people.” She’s going to be a part of our family forever.”
“Ya-hoooo!” shouted Meg, hopping around the living room with excitement. “Seth and Greg have each other to be brothers, but I’ve never had a sister. We can play with dolls and have tea parties, and she can share my room.’
“Yeah, and we can chase you both with frogs,” teased Seth. “When do we get to start collecting frogs, Dad?”
“No frogs just yet,” Mother warned, “but lots of prayers, and love, and understanding. She’ll be home in two weeks.”
“Where is my new sister?” asked Greg. “What’s her name? Does she have a bike?”
“Her name is Rebecca, she doesn’t have a bike, and right now she is living in another state, with a foster family,” answered Dad. “For all three years of her life, she has been moved form one place to another, but has never had a real home or a real Father and Mother. Your mom and I have been praying about this for a long time. We believe that Our Lord has chosen Rebecca to be part of our family.”
“But how can she be part of our family if she wasn’t already born in our family?” Meg looked a little uncertain.
“Don’t you remember that Greg wasn’t born in our family?”
“Oh, I guess I forgot because I was little when he came. I just know he’s my brother just like Seth. When we’re happy, and when we get mad at each other, we’re still brothers and sister first.”
“Brothers and sisters for better or worse, a little like this?” —Mother pointed to her wedding ring.
“Where Daddy and I part of the same family before we got married?”
“Oh, no. You didn’t even live in the same state when you were kids,” Seth responded.
“That’s right,” replied Dad as he reached for Mother’s hand. “But when we became husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony, we made a covenant with each other. That covenant was a special promise to be husband and wife, one family, forever.”
“Mommy adopted Daddy?” marveled Greg ad he worked his fingers through a new hole in his shirt.
“It’s sort like this, Greg,” Seth said slowly, “I guess that God has different ways of bring families together, but every family has God as its Father. And then He makes our families strong by helping us keep our promises to Him and to each other.”
“Yes, I think that’s pretty close, Seth,” Dad nodded. “You notice that the Bible verse ser read said that God would put His laws in our minds and hearts. When we know His laws, and that His love guides us, it is easier to do what is right and keep our promise to each other.”
Mother tugged Dad’s hand and reminded him, “Don’t forget that we think of the Church as a Mother who teaches us about our Heavenly Father. And Holy Scripture tells us that we are all adopted into His family.”
“I get it,” cried Meg. “Rebecca is going to be adopted twice. We are adopting her, and God is adopting her, too. She will be a Peterson, and she’ll be a child of God—and a “child of the promise.””
“Oh, boy!” Greg clapped. “Can I ride her bike?”
New Vocabulary
covenant: a very special type of forever promise
adoption: a way of bring someone completely and forever into a new family, just the same if they had been born into that family
“this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write then on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Heb. 8: 10 & 12
“…God sent his Son…so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son….” Gal. 4: 4
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I we did. Have a great weekend!
This was from a song/skit the kids did.
Santanna and her Godmother!
Hmmm, I wonder if we have a look-a-like in the house. What do you think? Do you see the resemblances 
