Sweet Sixteen

Daria fighting back tears on Aaron and Tessa's wedding day. 

"This is the best day of my life!" Daria exclaimed at dinner tonight. Today was her sixteenth birthday, her first birthday in America, her first birthday with a family.

          Last year, Daria was in an orphanage, and across the world our hearts ached to have her here, to know what she was feeling and thinking and doing. We struggled to trust God as we waited, knowing that the day she turned sixteen, our chance to adopt her would be over and Daria would have to leave the orphanage and start a vulnerable and hopeless life on the streets. Time seemed short and the adoption process long.

          But God is good, the Father of the fatherless and the Defender of the weak. Daria has been part of our family for four months now and will never face a lonely life on her own. We know what she is thinking, feeling, and doing. We know her character and her drama and her sense of humor. When asked what she wanted to do on her special day, she said, "I want to spend time with my mom, the very best mom in the world for me."  And over and over she said emphatically (in her beautiful Russian accent), "I love you people! I love my family! I like being in this family."

         I like her being in our family too. I'm glad she's my sister. I'm grateful to God for making her transition into our family so smooth, for weaving our hearts together.
Thank you God, for my new sister.

~Lissie