“I have chosen you…”

Do a search on the word “chosen” in your Bible. You will quickly find that God did a lot of choosing. God the Father chose us to be His children before we knew Him. That is a huge statement…one that I am starting to understand through a paradigm shift that is taking place. We have chosen Alex to be our son…before he knew us. Okay, its easy to just let that roll and move on…but really. We have chosen him and he doesn’t even really know us. He has read about us through e-mails and messages. He has heard about us from others. We have even talked a few times via Skype, though it was a bit awkward for him because he has never seen us. Yes, pictures…but never really seen us or met us face to face…reached out and touched us. I used to wonder what was going through his mind. What did he think of me. What did he think of this whole thing…does he really believe we are adopting him FOREVER!? A few days ago this whole thought process came crashing down on me…THIS IS EXACTLY HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT ME! And Alex is feeling the same things I have and do feel about God. (NO…I am NOT calling myself God in any way) As the father who has chosen Alex to be my son, I soo long to see him, to touch him, to talk to him, to hug him. I want to be with him and him with me. I want him to love me back too! It’s crazy that this is what God feels about me…and you! Right now Alex doesn’t really know me. I have not proved my love for him yet in a tangible way that he can see, though we have put countless hours in doing paperwork and jumping through all of the hoops required. We have spent time both planning and in prayer for Alex…but he has not seen that yet. We are preparing a room for him…but he hasn’t seen that yet either. For Alex, each day is life as usual but with a flicker of hope that maybe what he has been told is true…a family wants to be his “forever family”. There is fear that it’s just a dream that will fade and disappear. Even once we see each other for the first time…there will still be a vast canyon of trust to cross. We have to earn his trust, love and confidence…but it will be worth it all…and we are willing to do what it takes.

Our relationship is a journey…a process that will take some time. As we spend time together we will grow to know one another and he will learn about my heart. As Alex gives me opportunities to prove my love he will understand my commitment and love for him. I have to be careful not to overwhelm him but to help him work through his fears, mistrusts, self reliance. Roads I have walked and things I have felt…

How many parallels can this process of adoption take? Let your heart just walk down this path with God…you will find He takes on a totally new and fresh perspective. “I have chosen you before you knew Me”. He is waiting with more anticipation than we can ever understand…