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Skinned Knees

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by Becky Bearden

I have skinned knees.

My knees are dry and scaly, and frankly, pretty rough looking. No, I don't play sports, and no, I didn't fall and hurt myself.
 
I have skinned knees because I have a son. A wonderful, smart, active three year old son, whom I love.

Others might look at my knees and see only the surface scars. They might think, good grief! Can't that women take care of herself a little bit? Use some lotion at least? What is she thinking, walking around like that? 
 
Because I'll be honest, I used to think like that. But becoming an instant parent to a toddler changes things!
 
I see knees that have been on the floor in prayer, pleading with God to show us if we should pursue adoption, or stay a childless couple.
 
I see knees that are still on the floor in prayer, as we lean on God even more heavily, now that we are parents for the first time.
 
I see knees that are on the floor daily alongside a little whirlwind, building puzzles, playing in water puddles, rolling and bouncing balls and basically getting into all the things that I've been told that boys do, but I never experienced until now.
 
And I love my skinned knees. They remind me how much richer my life is now, as a mother to a son. They also remind me how much richer my walk is now with God, because I can't pretend to do it on my own anymore- I truly need Him and His strength and grace to make it through each day as a mother.
 
We never set out to specifically adopt a son- we just prayed the prayer “God, we're available” and wrote “open to a boy or girl” on our paperwork. 
 
And God heard- He chose for us a beautiful boy with dancing eyes, a love for music, and a god-given desire for a Mama and Baba. Our sweet Samuel, whom we adopted in March 2013 from Beijing China.
 
Every child deserves a Mama and Baba. 
 
And every boy deserves a mother with skinned knees.

 

Did you know that most families can complete the adoption process of a little boy through the China waiting children program in 12-16 months? Families who are open to boys and commonly seen medical needs can be matched while working on their dossier or almost immediately after. We currently have many boys available for adoption and have recently matched all but one of our families who have their dossier logged in and are open to boys, so the need is great! Please pray and consider if God is calling you to adopt a boy through China’s waiting children program. You can view boys and girls who are currently waiting for a family on our Waiting Children website. Please contact our staff at waitingchildren@awaa.org or by calling 800-429-3369 with any questions or if you are interested in reviewing a waiting child.

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