Jim asked if he could share with you a conversation he had recently with Rachel.
Hello. Thanks for stopping in to read. I’m the guest
writer for the day. You all know my bride, because she is the author of this
blog. I’m the guy behind the scenes who once in awhile thanks you ladies for
all of your support, comments, private emails, etc. I'd like to share with you a conversation between Little Miss and myself shortly after a rage.
The Clay Pot
Dad: Rachel, have you ever seen a clay pot before?
Rachel: Yes.
Dad: Have you ever seen a clay pot that had a crack in it?
Rachel: Yes
Dad: So, what do you think people do with clay pots that
have cracks in them?
Rachel: Throw them away.
Dad: What else could they do?
Rachel: Fix them.
Dad: Yep I bet they do. How do you fix a clay pot with a
crack in it?
Rachel: Glue it.
Dad: Any other way?
Rachel: Tape it.
Dad: Yep. Two good
ways to fix the pot. Can you think of any other way?
Rachel: Put clay on it.
Dad: Yep. That’s another way. Do you know how a clay pot is
made?
Rachel: No
Dad: When people make clay pots, they put them in an oven.
Not like the one
upstairs, but sometimes they are round, or even square. When
they turn them on they are way hotter than our oven is upstairs. When they are
done “baking” they let them cool. But sometimes when they examine them some
pots have cracks in them.
You know what Rachel, you’re like the clay pot, you
have a crack in you. It’s all the pain, the hurt that you lived through while
in Africa, and while J lived in our house.
Rachel you have some cracks. We aren't going to throw you away. We could
put some tape/glue on them and hope they would hold together. You know, we have
tried all kinds of things, but you know what? It’s just not working. The cracks
wont’ stay together. You need to go back into the oven.
You know, Rachel, that you will soon be moving to a Residential Care Facility. There
you can get the help that you need, the new clay that you need, so that you will not come
apart. So that you can be whole. So that God can heal your broken heart. It’ s
not going to be fun; it’s going to be hard, really hard. But we believe that the people there have all of the right tools, all the right clay you need to become whole.
Rachel: How long will I have to stay there?
Dad: We don’t know, Rachel. It all depends on how willing you
are at allowing God to heal your heart, how willing you are about talking to
the counselor about your past pain.
This conversation was not planned, but I was thankful that God
gave me the words to say to help explain to Rachel the reason we believe that this Residential Care Facility is the very best place for her.
Yes.
Jim and I had to make the most difficult of decisions . . . to move our daughter out-of-state to get the help for her that she needs.
She is living in a Christian care facility that specializes in working with adopted children who struggle with severe attachment disorder. I visited the home (with Rachel) back in March, so we have been walking through the process for several months. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that everything was confirmed and we were given a date for moving her there.
The other 3 younger children went with us when we took Rachel. The Lord blessed our last couple of days with her, and orchestrated a wonderful time of sharing (where we were each able to tell her a few of the things that we love and appreciate about her) and a family prayer time before we said our "See you later"s.
Please keep all of us (especially Rachel) in your prayers as we walk through this most difficult of transitions.
