I don't care for movies where animated animals face hardships of any kind. There is something about the separation or loss of an animated animal from his or her loved one that affects me in a profound and deep way. I know that you are thinking...profound and deep...animated animals...really Karen? I avoid watching some of the great animated movies of all time such as The Land Before Time, The Lion King, Dumbo, Finding Nemo, and various others because the anticipation of sorrow is too much for me. Michael likes to give me a hard time about this, especially in light of the fact that soon I will be a mother. I maintain that our child will be able to share these films with his father (it can be their bonding time) while mom tends to some other household duty far, far, away from the sights and sounds of the screen. The only thing worse than the idea of watching one of these films myself is having to share in that experience with my child. Stupid animated animals...
With all of this being said, imagine my surprise when I found myself thinking about the film, An American Tail the other day. This is one of my LEAST favorites despite the happy ending. Fievel, a Russian mouse, is separated from his mother while traveling to the United States. In the middle of their search we are subjected to one of the saddest songs of all time, Somewhere Out There, with Fievel and his mother both starring up at the stars and dreaming about the day when they will be together again. This film has all of the elements that I fear in an animated drama. As the film and the song began to find their way into my mind, I fought to push them out until I realized something...in some ways this story parallels my life as I wait to bring my son home from Ethiopia. It was then that the pity set in as I think about the long road ahead. The only thing worse than watching a film of this nature is the thought of finding myself in the middle of one.
The wait time in Ethiopia has been pushed back... again... and there are days when I am consumed in thoughts that seek to destroy my hope. In addition some of our family and/or friends have not been supportive of our adoption, and I am feeling the weight of affliction. Yet I am called to, "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12). I know with more certainty than Fievel or his mother had in the midst of their sorrow that in God's timing I will be holding my son in my arms. So that leads me to prayer.
Rather than becoming consumed in my own fear, heartache, and worry, God is calling me to trust Him and pray for those who are facing difficulties in my life. So I pray for the friend whose father is facing a battle with cancer, and I pray for a friend who is facing a difficult situation at work. I pray for our friends who are struggling to start a family, and I pray for my family member who is working to finish her education. I pray for our friends who have a loved one in the military, and I pray for our friends who are taking care of a sick child. I pray for the unspoken requests of a friend who has pledged to pray for me when her own fears set in, and I pray for the Nunes Family, the Huff Family, the Krause Family,and the Abel Family who are also waiting to bring home their children from Ethiopia. In addition, I pray for the couple that I met yesterday who is waiting for the baby that they are going to welcome into their family through a foster-to-adopt program. I pray...and the world seems a little smaller, my waiting a little less daunting, and my hope feels a little bigger.
This is an amazing post... I appreciate you being transparent and sharing your heart about the difficulties of it all. Love this verse
ReplyDeleteBe joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12)
We appreciate your prayers and include all of you in ours as well. We shall all persevere!!! God's timing is perfect!! I pray the same pray that I do for myself for you guys also. That God would protect our hearts from those that dont understand and dont see what we see... That he would be our protector when it all gets hard, and that he would provide every single penny as needed!