Finding Love

A bout a week ago, I woke up and contemplated what the bible said about love. If you click back to before our trip, I blogged about what His word says on the topic. I am so glad that God had placed several verses on my heart to teach me about how we are to love. Those verses have come in to play on this trip.

It’s hard to love a screaming child. It’s hard to love a child that is hitting you and pushing you away. It’s hard to love a child whom you have only met in pictures.  There is almost a feeling of holding them at a distance until they are bathed and in fresh clothing from home. Even then they can still feel like strangers. I know this is not always the case, but it was how it felt this year with our two.

Christ teaches us to act in love, not to just feel it. It is a command, not a suggestion. Every moment since being handed our kids I have tried to act in love. We have fed, bathed, held, tickled, and kissed. My love for Mae has come much quicker than for Nate. Mae has been stuck to me like glue. It is hard not to bond a bit with someone who is staring into your face all day.  Nate and I have had less time to interact. Jon has completely taken over the care for him since I have Mae in my arms all the time. Because of this, Nate has wanted little to do with me. Slowly, this has changed. On his own initiative he has come to sit in my lap and give hugs. We still have a ways to go, but I am not worried.

It has been such a blessing to see how God causes our love to grow with our children, and to see their love grow for us. What joy it is to see Nate reach his little arms up and say “Baba”. How precious it is when Mae puckers up her sweet lips and leans in for a kiss. We have found love by acting out what it means to love one step at a time.