Away game.....

In sports they always talk about home court (or field) advantage.  Becky and I are feeling like we are on a long stretch of away games....

Another full day with our little Joy and there were an increased number of her requests to "Go to see Mommy."  The meltdowns were less and less intense but her sadness seems to grow.   This is hard for me (Jay) to see but it seems particularly difficult for Becky.  She and Joy have clearly been bonding (a major praise) but the downside is that she is less and less willing to let me comfort her when she longs for her foster mother and thus the burden falls squarely on Becky's shoulders.

We are getting a sense of what it will be like when we bring her home with us.  We are devoted as ever, as we are convinced that this is God's will for our life (and Joy's) but we can't help but feel some anticipatory sadness for Joy because no parent likes to see their child in the type of pain that comes from separation from a loved one.

We know that, over time, Joy will view Becky as her Mommy (right now we are calling Becky Momma so as not to bring on one of Joy's feelings of homesickness), she will know me as her Daddy (and hopefully not continue to mistake me for "Uncle" as we have been referring to my twin brother Jim who just left for the airport to head back home), our children (whom she's seen through the wonders of FaceTime) will be her brothers and sisters, and our parents (she's seen all of them too thanks to FaceTime) will become grandma's and grandpa's, but for now how do you reason with a toddler?  Distraction seems to be our best defense (and offense) but it sure would be easier with our home court advantage rather than feeling somewhat trapped in a hotel room thousands of miles away.

I am sorry that this post is taking a less upbeat tone.  I wanted to share some of how we are feeling (mostly a sense of inadequacy right now) to ask that you pray with us and also so we can all rejoice together for each of the victories ahead (right now we take smiles, hugs, and even a little dancing as well as a quiet drifting off to sleep for Joy as the victories of the day -- only The Lord knows what tomorrow will bring).

Please pray for my beautiful and courageous wife, that she may be filled with a spirit of encouragement and peace.  Please pray that I will know how best to be a support and that my natural tendency to need to be busy doing something doesn't cause me to miss precious moments.  Please pray for Joy in this time of transition (upon her now and to come in the future).  Please pray that we will have the wisdom to know if we should continue to keep her separated from all that is familiar until we have had our day in court or if a little time for her at home would be a good thing (right now we are planning to play all the way through).  Please pray for our upcoming court date.  Finally, please continue to pray for our children at home (and Elizabeth who is in the Dominican Republic) - we are missing them dearly.

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quite you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17

With love (and Joy),
-Jay and Becky