Small Victories

We have many adoptive families in our circle of friends.  That means there are many adoption stories playing themselves out all around us.  Each story is different.  Each story will have different plot points.  Different character arcs.  Different climaxes and twists and turns.  Not all stories wrap up prettily or end happily...in this broken world we live in.

When one family we know passed on adopting a child who had been exposed to alcohol in utero...Girlie was affected by it.  It took some struggle & some time for her to process this information. Does that mean they would not have chosen her if she were presented to them?  We don't even know for sure that she was exposed in utero...but given her low birth weight and some of the struggles she has...it could be true for her.

She sees herself in another adopted child who struggles and she does not always like what she sees.  This can be a trigger.  This can set her off.

Another family we know has made some changes that are apparent to Girlie.  She is struggling with the situation.

She usually spirals when this sort of stuff comes up and it's days ...if not weeks...before she can identify what's troubling her.  I'll get hourly laundry lists of anything & everything but.

Even though I am more often than not aware of it myself...I never name the core issue for her...only push her to dig down very deep and find it for herself.

It's when she identifies what's troubling her and expresses what's going on in her heart...that I see evidence of healing.  Of growth.  Of progress.

Trusting us enough to speak her fears out loud.  It does not come easy for Girlie.  It is an uphill battle.

Small victories.  Praising the Lord for them.

Dig Deeper

what I mean by "digging "deeper"