Our Christmas in China/God's Redemption

As we are waiting at the Hong Kong airport to begin our long trek home, I am overwhelmed at all that has happened in the last few months. Just over two months ago, we did not even know about a little girl in a Chinese orphanage named Lian Jia Jing. I woke up the morning of October 21 with a picture of her precious little scowling face sitting in my email inbox. Without even knowing the seriousness of her medical condition, I knew she was our daughter. Fast forward to the day we got her ... the significance of Lia Kate's Gotcha Day is that it marked two months to the day we first saw her face! This is insanely fast in terms of Chinese adoptions. We are so thankful that God flung open the doors for our paperwork to go through so fast. While we never imagined this adoption would cause us to miss Christmas with Britton, us jumping at the chance to bring our daughter home meant fewer days that Lia Kate had to spend in an orphanage. It meant that we were blessed with the gift of our daughter this Christmas (what better gift??). And it means we got to experience the beauty of adoption and God's redemptive plan for Lia Kate at a time when we celebrate God's story of redemption for us in the birth of Jesus Christ. I can't think of a better way to have spent this Christmas. As we are waiting at the airport for our flight home, I am suddenly sad knowing we are taking her away from the home of her birth, from where they speak her native language, from where her only blood relatives live, from the only place and things and people that are familiar to her. It is a surprisingly heavy burden. But on the other hand, this precious child is now our daughter and has a family and a home, thanks only to the grace of God. We are so thankful for all your prayers for us, and for all of your encouraging comments and your unwavering support along this journey. Especially thankful to our mothers who took such good care of Britton, and for all of our dear friends and family who offered their support and made this adoption possible. We can't wait to introduce you to our Lia Kate! We'll be home soon!