Ellie Grace became our daughter two years ago today. She was carried into a hot, stuff room in the Civil Affairs Office in Nanning, China after a 2 and a half hour bus ride along with seven “orphanage-mates”. We were told she was healthy, smart, and a pretty strong-minded baby. I had prayed for her to have God’s strength and grace to persevere during her first year without a family. God answered my prayers.
Her strength was evident even in the first moments of our meeting. She would not cry. I think every other baby cried. She would not look at me – I think she knew that she would crumble if we were to make eye contact. She let me hold her and even when I kissed her she seemed to hold herself away while absorbing the feel of my kiss on her cheek. Oddly enough, though we didn’t recognize it at the time, she made direct eye contact with her daddy in those first moments. She relates totally different to her dad than to me.
It didn’t take her more than a day or so to realize we were her parents. When she began to reach for me, she reached for me and attached to me with all the strength she had. She had a mama and she wasn’t letting go. I wasn’t either.
I don’t think there are words for the moment when you meet your child for the first time. I have had the privilege of feeling unborn life inside me and seeing Hannah the moment she emerged into this world. I have had the privilege of meeting a child in a strange place on the other side of the world after waiting for her for a seemingly endless amount of time. I am thankful for both experiences.
Congratulations!