Everyday Knowing Reminder - Sunday Message March 14, 2010

Children

As we continue to discuss family – beyond blood ties, let us turn to our attention to the many faces of families.

This Sunday, March 14, is the anniversary when our son came home from Korea to be with his forever family. If you are an adoptive family, you know what this means. While we may not give birth to our children, we give them our love. We honor each birth-parent for being a conduit through which a child enters this world. We honor the heritage of the child’s birth country or if a domestic adoption, we honor the culture from which they came. Most importantly, we honor God’s Presence within them. My son and I just had a conversation about the role of his birth-parents as well as his dad and me. I told him that his birth-mom and dad were in charge of creating his physical body. They did a great job, as he is healthy, strong, and intelligent. While his birth-parents where responsible for his physical body, I said that his dad and I were responsible for nurturing his soul. We are here to hold his soul’s hand until it is ready to walk on its own.

His dad and I have grown so much through his Presence. Thanks to our son, we have really come into our spirituality. We have found a way to eat better, exercise and create a daily spiritual practice. When there is a soul which is counting on you, you step up and answer the call. We are called “three peas in a pod,” for we do just about everything together. We not only love each other but enjoy being together.

As my son begins to understand what adoption is, he asked if I was adopted. I told him no, however when I was growing up I thought it might be a possibility I was adopted. I did not look like anyone in my family. I acted different and saw the world and life differently. This is true even today. What I have found is that families were not made to look like each other, although some do, we were made to see how similar we are on the inside.

When we learn to see the God-Presence within our families, it lays the foundation for peace among neighbors, cities, states and countries. For when we make peace within our families, we add to the collective peace consciousness. When we can find peace with our family, we can find peace in our neighbors and those from other countries.

So as we enjoy this path with “our” son, we give him our beliefs, our values, and our perspective. As he grows he will learn to take from our teachings what works for him, modifying or completely changing as needed. What will remain is the intense love we all have for each other. To allow another to have their own beliefs, to give space for the person to grow as God intended and to be Present and honor their own path is a true blessing.

As we celebrate the day our son came home to us, his “gotcha day,” we remember three things: Love, Love, Love. For within Love all things are possible.