Roller Coaster of Love

The past 48 hours have been a roller coaster ride.  Friday night at about 5:30 PM Kentucky time we were boarding a shuttle heading to the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea.  25 hours later we landed in Louisville, KY to celebrate with friends and family who had gathered at the airport to greet us.  Throughout those 25 hours the presence of God and the evidence of His grace was so very obvious to us and we are unashamedly grateful for that grace!

Both of us had resigned ourselves to the idea that the 12 1/2 hour flight from Seoul was going to be torturous for our party of three as well as the other 300 people on the plane when Isaac had finally had enough of being trapped in metal prison at 37,000 feet.  We dreaded the arrival of that moment but we were banking on Philippians 4:13 to carry us through and decided that we could endure pretty much anything for 12+ hours if it meant bringing our little boy home.  That moment never arrived. For 12 1/2 hours our little boy was a model citizen.  He had a couple of minor infractions, but nothing severe enough to be added to his permanent record.  To be honest, I think he handled the captivity better than myself or Bethany!

When we hit the ground in Dallas, TX we were dreading our 6 hour layover.  The layover began with us spending about hour waiting through the process of immigration and customs with a child who had already been awake for 16 hours.  Bethany and I were both so happy that he had managed to hold it together on the plane that we would've been totally cool with him melting down in the airport… but he never did.  He took it all in stride and when we got through all the paperwork, bag checks, security, etc. and finally arrived at our gate to wait out the remainder of our layover he took a bottle and passed out cold.  We took turns holding him while he slept, alternating whenever we lost all feeling in whichever arm he was currently resting on.  When we boarded the plane heading to Kentucky he let out a few yells to declare his disapproval of being on another air plane and then went right back to sleep… as did Daddy only without the screaming.  We tried our best to wake him up beginning about 30 minutes before we landed with no success and finally just decided our family would meet him asleep and be greeted by the fit we'd been expecting since boarding the first flight in Seoul.  Once again we were surprised when little man woke up on his own and decided to greet our family and friends with smiles and even hugs as he lunged from my arms into the arms of his Uncle Matt.

The finish line was in sight with only one hurdle left to clear... the car seat.  Most people in the USA don't give a second thought to putting an infant in a car seat, it's simply standard operating procedure.  That's all well and good until you realize that until the moment Isaac sat his behind in his Mamaw's van, he had never even SEEN a car seat much less been strapped into one.  After having personally ridden in several taxis while in Seoul, I would seriously consider strapping myself into a 5 point harness as well as donning a helmet and pads.  When we put Isaac in the seat he never made a sound other than the occasional laugh while playing peek-a-boo while we finished loading up.  He grumbled a little just outside of Etown, but just enough to remind us he was in the car.

Now we're home and it's like he's lived here all his life.  He's had a few moments here and there as he is slowly getting adjusted to the time change and rearranging his schedule, but he has assimilated himself into our family just like he was the missing piece of our puzzle.  He's even been reading his Bible as was evidenced by the way he greeted Bacon the wonder dog with an open mouth,  see Romans 16:16 for clarification.

Thanks to all of you who have been reading and praying for us along the way throughout this journey.  We would never have made it without you.  In the moments we needed them the most your prayers were answered and the value of those prayers to us could not be adequately expressed in words.  Please don't stop now though, and if there is one thing that I could ask of each and every one of you it would be that you add something to your prayers.  I would ask that you pray for the foster family who cared for our little boy for over a year as we waited for the process to play itself out and allow us to go and get him.  That foster family loved our little boy in such an amazing way and it shows with just how well he is doing in such a new and strange environment.  The emotions they are experiencing right now is likened to that of having a death in the family and the absence of Isaac in their family is a wound that won't quickly heal.  Pray that God surrounds their family with His love and speeds the healing process.  Pray that they re-enter the foster program so that another family might have their child being cared for in such a wonderful home.  Pray that we never forget the blessing of seeing first hand just how much our son was loved before we ever even entered the picture!

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 NIV