Jacie has been home for 2 1/2 years. She was adopted from the Special Needs Chinese Adoption Program at the age of 8 years old. She is learning and growing in her forever family~



Monday, April 18, 2011

Have to Go Through It

This pic brings back memories... She looks so little in her black dress. Remember how she wore it for the first three or four days straight...?


It is so quiet in the house for one second I forgot that I even had children... Okay, so that is not true. It is difficult to forget about them because the massive amount of 'junk' that they have left scattered about the house. Even when they are not directly sitting here bickering with each other, I KNOW they are here. Hehehe.

So... the falling snow has made me a little crazy this morning. What in the world?!? I have to admit as I sit here looking out of the window, it is pretty. I know many of you are going to think that I have lost it. I might be inclined to agree. Yet, if you forget what month it is and how long the winter months stretched on miserably, you too might be able to see the beauty. Yeah, it's a stretch but what else can I do? I am feeling Christmasy and its almost Easter.

Jacie does not know what Easter is. We are having a hard time figuring out how to explain who Jesus Christ is, who God is and why we can't see him. Spirituality is difficult to explain to a fluent person who has 'heard' of it before. Try taking it on with a semi-English speaking child from a far away land. When I walk through this, I am going to write a book for others on how to do this well. It is very hard. She does not want to go to church because she doesn't understand what it is all about. I don't blame her. I try to put myself in her shoes and imagine that I have no background in basic religion, haven't heard of Easter or God and Bam...

This is one of those things that we never considered when we were adopting. Truthfully, it never even crossed my mind. Not once. With her going on nine years old (in 10 days,) it is not a topic that I take lightly but it has to be handled with kid gloves. She is smart, independent and analytical. We cannot say, "Oh, that is how it is and you are going to believe it."

She would run in the other direction as fast as she could. She definitely has spit and vinegar. If I say, "You will like this or that."

She hates it. If I say, "Oh, no. You won't like that."

Whatever it is...She will eat it all, wear it or do it. Uhhmm... Looking forward to the teen years.

We are in the middle of exactly ten months since we met Jacie. Actually, yesterday marked that but I count the meeting as all of our time in China so we will pass that mark on the 27th. That is the day we got home. Some days it doesn't seem like it could be that long, others...longer. Life definitely interesting.

Jacie has been struggling with her television 'addiction.' I use that word with hesitancy because I think it could be more properly called habit. In China, she got up every morning (in the orphanage) and watched TV. It was easier for them because they had to get the other children ready for school. She was content there and didn't cause a fuss. Now, she still clings to that way of life. The minute she wakes up, she wants the television. Everyday. She cries for it. Sometimes I let her. She has a broken hip and leg and I am running out of options as to keeping her busy every single day. Most days I try to occupy her with other things. That is difficult for me because of the time commitment. We will work it out though I hope that we can actually work through it, not just around it like we are now.

Continue to remember Jacie as we look to dealing with deeper issues. They are going to be difficult. Makes me think of the bear hunt book where the hunter can't go under it, can't go over it, can't go around it...have to go through it. That is where we are right now. It is a difficult place to be but we know that we serve a big God. One who has been in this whole process from the start. Thanks for joining us on our journey.


~CP

What is it about Blogspot that it won't let me format...? Sorry guys, its either waaaayy to spaced or all slammed together.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for commenting on my blog and sharing yours. I'm looking forward to reading back through your story.
    Brandy
    www.hopeinthegrief.blogspot.com

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  2. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. I can't imagine trying to teach and instill the faith of God into someone that really has no concept of it or the language that it's coming in. Even with our children we deal with the occassional questioning of "where is God?", "how do we know that he is there?", those are hard questions. The only answers I can give is that God is everywhere, and as long as you love Him in your heart he will always be there. But in children visual is so much a part of their lives.

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