One year ago today Laura and I pulled up to our adoption agency’s foster home on the side of a hill in Ethiopia. We had come to receive a baby boy named Selamu into our family. I will never forget it. We stood outside the gate of the home while a worker for our agency went inside to bring him out.
So, we just stood there and waited in the street.
I can still hear the sounds of the children playing and talking on the other side of the wall. I can still hear the sound of the women saying goodbye to Selamu. These were the women who had cared for him since he arrived.
When the gate opened our worker stepped out holding Selamu, walked over and handed us our son.
Solomon had nothing with him but the clothing he was wearing. But that was all he needed.
When we got back into the van to leave the orphanage Solomon started crying. He was scared. He did not know where we were going. He did not know who we were. But in his fear, he did one of the most moving things I have ever witnessed.
He reached his little arms around his forever mommy’s neck, placed his head on her chest, stopped crying and held on.
In that moment he experienced the love and assurance of adoption. He was our son, and we became his mommy and daddy. We are so thankful for what God has done. Solly is truly a gift of God. A blessing.
- Happy Gotcha Day
