I am grateful for men who tuck their shirts in.

I am grateful for the crinkling sound of a potato chip bag – it was so pleasant this morning coming from my boss’s office. Almost like eating those wonderfully delicious salty crispy potato gifts…

I am grateful that I am almost 50 and don’t want to go back in time. I love being a little older and seeing how much I have changed in 20+ years. My parents had to have shook their heads in disbelief at some of the things I said and did back then.

A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

I am grateful for the tears that flowed last night when I got home from class. I wanted to share my proud moment with Mom and couldn’t. You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone…oh, if I could just hear her voice again.

I am grateful for completion of my CASA training and certification.

I am grateful for our leader Abby and the training she facilitated. Her passion and enthusiasm were just what I needed to finish what I started.

I am grateful for fun memories of watching episodes of “Bewitched.” I loved that show as a little girl. I wanted to grow up to look like Elizabeth Montgomery or my other favorite, Barbara Eden.

I was reminded of “Bewitched” last night when we talked about how if only we could stop time and figure out the right things to say and do for our CASA kids before the world moved on and they turned 18 and aged out of the system.

The nose wiggle that would make life interesting.

So strange how God just lays out coincidences. I got home last night after completing my training, had a little cry all by myself, and then turned on the tv. The last two minutes of a Law and Order episode was on, and the scene was a judge making a TPR (termination of parental rights) ruling for a small child and asking the detective who apparently had been on the case if she would consider becoming the foster parent for the child. It was such a sweet, tender ending to a show I didn’t watch, but it was so fitting that I happened to see that moment, a moment I will soon experience in court. And then, when I read my church devotions this morning, this was the added insight:

By the time our son came to live with us at the age of 10, he had already seen the inside of many courtrooms. Having spent half of his life in the foster system, to him courtrooms were where new moms and dads were assigned. Judges were the people who asked him odd questions and eventually decided that he couldn’t see his biological parents again. Hearings were painful reminders of the reality of the situation.

So when we adopted our son, I wanted so badly for him to realize that this trip to the courtroom was unlike all of the previous ones. So beyond the legal aspects, we made the decision to celebrate this unifying of our family in a covenant ceremony. The night of the adoption, we gathered in front of a small group of friends at the church. Together, my husband and I made these promises to our son:

We are so happy that you are our son
We promise to do our best to be good parents
We will keep you safe and protect you
We will be here to listen to you
We will be here to guide you when life is hard or confusing
We will cheer you on and celebrate your victories
We will learn from the love that God has for His children, and we will do our best to love you that same way.

We had this ceremony so that he would know that this was new. This was special. This was forever…

I LOVE THIS!

…I imagine that as Christians reading the story of the flood, we’re meant to have a similar understanding through the message of the rainbow. The rainbow is a promise – a message. The rainbow says, “There may be times of danger and uncertainty, but I am with you.” It says, “I have not forgotten you, nor will I forsake you.” The rainbow is our opportunity to hear God whisper, “You have to know that our relationship is special – it’s different. You are forever my child.”

As an adoptive mom, one of my greatest desires is for my son to understand the fullness of our relationship and my love for him. If I have this deep yearning within my heart, I can only imagine how much greater this must be for the One who adopts us into His eternal family. No matter the weather outside, we’re meant to claim the message of the rainbow as our own. To do anything less means that we’re not fully grasping what God so desperately wants to say to us – that we are, and will forever be, His. – Janelle Gregory

What a perfect message that was for me today, and so timely.

When asked for some final thoughts at the end of class last night, a fellow classmate said that he has been a CASA for three years now, and there are times when he has absolutely no clue what he’s doing, if he’s doing it right, or what to do next. But there’s one thing he DOES know, and it’s why he is an advocate:  “I’ll be the one adult in my ‘child’s’ life who is consistently there, listens, and who gives a damn about them.” So in closing, I am grateful for Bill and his final thoughts that put it all into perspective for me.