Many of you have followed our journey to China and back over the past several years. There are moments when it is good to look back and remember where we have been and how far we have come on this amazing pathway. Life is often a mystery; it is frequently a surprise; and even when it is difficult, we can discover joy in the midst of the unknown. And so as we celebrate Annie's 7th birthday, I am reminded of the beginning of this journey, and I am again overwhelmed with God's grace and guidance all along the way.
Here is our beautiful, strong-willed, stubborn, determined, and sweet-spirited AnnaMei. When I first "met" Annie through her picture and online introduction, she was just 18 months old. The little bit of information that was available told me that she had Cerebral Palsy (or as some files translated it, "brain problems"), that she could not walk, roll-over, crawl, or hold her own cup. We were also told that her file had been sent out to three different adoption agencies, and since no one had expressed interest in adopting her, the file would soon be returned to China where it would be sent back to her orphanage, and would no longer be sent out to other agencies. She would spend the rest of her life in her orphanage in Shang Rao City, Jiangxi Province, P.R. China. That was the end of the story.
But it seemed that every detail just fell into place, as we contacted the agency, expedited her file to take to our pediatrician, and had 48 hours to make a decision and send in our Letter of Intent. Not a lot of time to think, but we got all of the information, limited as it was, to our pediatrician who told us that her best guess from the records was that whatever was actually the "problem" could be handled. She was very encouraging, and told us that it didn't sound like there was an insurmountable obstacle in front of us if we decided to bring this baby home. Well . . . . without any money at that particular minute in time, we also were blessed to work with an agency that was willing to work with us on a "pay as you go" kind of arrangement. And that was the beginning of this journey for our family. But Annie had already been waiting for us to show up for a year and a half. It only took us another 9 months to arrive in China and bring her home to our family.
The very long story includes moments of complete mystery, questions with no human answers, and gifts from total strangers who wanted to help us bring this baby home. And when we finally actually "met" her for the first time, she was in exactly the condition that had been described to us: she was very ill with an upper respiratory infection (that was just months before we heard about the outbreak of SARS) that I picked up from her and was very ill throughout most of our two weeks in China. She could not walk, roll-over, crawl or sit up without propping herself up with her right arm. Her left side was completely atrophied, and she had no upper body strength. They told us at the orphanage that they were so glad that we were bringing her home, because they were afraid that she would not have made it through another winter.
But here we are, today, celebrating her 7th birthday and she is the most loving, delightful, cuddly, and sweet little girl . . . . until she makes up her mind to do something, and then look out! She is stubborn, determined, and strong-willed and when she sets out to accomplish something, she will not be deterred! But that is one lesson that she is learning about life: sometimes she has to accept the boundaries and limitations that are part of the real world. I am so grateful for her strong spirit - especially when we are working on learning to read or working on addition. She just won't give up until she gets it! There are moments, however, when that headstrong spirit requires a significant amount of patience on my part, sometimes just to keep her safe. So I know that my work is definitely cut out for me, as I face the future as the mommy to one determined little girl, who will need all of that stubbornness to be successful in a world that doesn't slow down for anyone. She's gotta learn to keep up, and I just pray that I can be there to cheer her on all the way to the finish line. Happy Birthday, our little Annie Bug!!!
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