Sometimes I forget that God cares about the details of my life. I usually get that He controls the big important things but I never would have faulted Him if He let the small stuff slip through the cracks. I mean He's pretty busy controlling the universe and all… but something happened a couple of weeks ago that brought me to my knees, and it was ALL about the details. God gave me a gift. It was as if He actually reached down to wrap me in a hug.
Andy & I attended a conference entitled "Christian Alliance for Orphans" which took place in Chicago. It was AMAZING conference and also amazingly big. There were 3,000+ people there and we were very excited to somehow run into our friend Amy (Hi Amy!) Amy was there with her friend who just happened to be from China which of course is thrilling to me as I am crazy about anything "China" right now. So Amy's friend, Hannah, works for an amazing foster home by the name of "New Day." As we shared our adoption story with her as well as what had happened with Benton she asked, "Are you talking about Bo Yu?"
SHE KNEW HIM (in case you were wondering, China is a big place with a lot of people.)
It turns out that our little Benton had been cared for by another great foster home called, "Little Flower." Hannah was able to give me the email address of his caretakers and show me pictures of him that I had never seen before! Most importantly she was able to reassure me that Benton (Bo Yu) was dearly loved and well taken care of. He did not die alone and he is greatly missed by those who care for him. When I got home I emailed "Little Flower" to thank them for everything they had done for Benton. In response they sent me a kind note as well as the link to 773 pictures of Benton as he grew up! When he passed away he was almost 3 years old. I'm pretty sure I don't have 773 pictures of David (who is currently 3)…however they loved Benton enough to take so many picture and I was able to see him grow virtually. Oh my heart. I just wanted to know that he was loved…and I got so much more.
I never expected to receive any closure in regards to Benton's passing. I took time to grieve and when Andy & I felt "ready" we continued the process of finding our next child. BUT GOD….God is so good. When I think about all of the details that had to happen to bring Hannah face to face with us… there just are no words. God cares about the little things. He cared about my "mother's heart" for Benton. I am so thankful.
Can I just tell you how crazy and amazing this journey has already been? Can I tell you that CAN'T WAIT to write my next blog post? Can you guess what it might be?
Just wanted to give a shout out to those I referenced in this blog. I am thankful for you!:
Amy's Blog (Our friend who brought her little girl home from China last year)
Hannah's Blog (Our friend who works with New Day Foster Home)
Little Flower Projects (The foster home who cared for Benton)
New Day Foster Home (Foster home that Hannah works with)
