OK, so the blogs are getting fewer and farther between. I can rattle off the busy-ness that we have each day or week, but anyone with multiple children can say the same, so I won’t go there. I will occasionally think – I should write about that. But then I don’t. So, at least today I did.
Last night, I watched the announcement from the attorney general in Missouri concerning the case where a young man was killed by an officer of the law. I don’t know all the facts of the case. Neither do you. Neither do 99.9% of all Americans. I know what I have heard and read. Some accounts say that the young man had his hands up in surrender when he was shot. Some say that he actually tried to wrestle the handgun away from the officer when the fatal shot was fired. One of those could be true, or it could lie somewhere in between. The sad thing is, two lives are forever affected by this. The obvious is for Michael, who no longer has his. The second is the officer involved. I know an officer very well who had to fire in the line of duty and is forever haunted by that moment, in spite of the fact that it was over 30 years ago. So, too, will this officer always remember the day that his gun took a life.
The announcement came that the evidence that was presented by the prosecuting attorney was not even sufficient enough to go to trial. Was this fair? Again, I fall outside of the 0.01% that know enough to judge whether or not it was. To some, the facts of the case will never matter. It only matters that their definition of “justice” was not received. I hope and pray that I never know the feeling of burying one of my children. But, this young man’s mother now knows just how unbearable it is. “Justice” will not change that. Not one bit. Regardless of the level of justice he receives. Neither does the reaction to the perceived lack of justice in Ferguson, Missouri, and in other towns and cities around the country. Tearing up a convenience store, lighting cars on fire, or breaking windows doesn’t make that mother sit back and relax more. Nor will it change the facts of the case, whatever they may be. Nor will it help anyone understand it better.
This past year, a student at my school did not receive something that that family felt they should. Not because anything that the school (or anyone at the school) failed to do, but rather because the family did not meet the criteria to receive it. Weeks later, when it became public that this student did not receive what they felt entitled to, the story that the family put out became that the necessary paperwork was not properly filed by me, since I was “out in Arizona adopting that baby” at the time. Nothing could be further from the truth. The “paperwork” was not filed because they simply did not meet the rules and criteria in order to qualify. Period. End of sentence. First off, to include my innocent baby in the matter is juvenile and shameful, but that’s for another day. In truth, I could have, and would have, filed that from Phoenix, or before I left, or after I returned. Or tomorrow for that matter. And they would still allow that student to receive it, even now. But the real facts are they did not, and still do not, qualify for it. But, I am having to constantly assure others who are concerned for that student of the real truth, because the made up story has more legs and has gained public perception. Proving, as in the story in Missouri, that perception outweighs reality and distracts us from the truth too often.
Where does this all go? And why is this in my adoption blog? I’m really not sure of the answer to either. I know that the enemy that is very real in our daily struggle to remain faithful in our walk with Christ is happy to see us so focused on anything other than living a life of love for our fellow man in portrayal of how Jesus loved. Until the world around us knows that being a follower of Christ means being about love, not about hatred and accusations, then they won’t stop and listen to our story of where that love comes from.
Kane is awesome. He has a sweet disposition, continues to grow and be healthy, and is already very spoiled to being held and loved. He loves his mama the most, and sometimes confuses Kara for her, so she gets more of a reaction from him sometimes than anyone besides Jaclyn. And guess what else – with a birth father that is fully Mexican, he will not look like us. And I think that’s awesome too. But, I already fear the day that I get a call from school about comments that others have made because of the pigment of his skin. It won’t be in preschool or probably even the first few grades of elementary school. Because kids that age don’t care. It will be later, maybe even middle or high school, when someone has informed their child that he is different, and different is scary, wrong, bad, or less of a person.
I already pray for the opportunities that he will have to present his world with what a true follower of Christ looks like. And that serves as a reminder to pray for the opportunities that I already have – every day. So, what kind of Jesus are YOU representing?
I hope to blog more, but if not remember December 19th. That is the day that we finalize the adoption in an Arizona court, via telephone. I’m not sure what the steps that follow that are, but that day will seal Kane’s birth mom and father forever, and lock him in as a Scott (poor guy). And thank you is simple but not adequate enough for all of the support that everyone continues to show us. December 12th is his doctor’s appointment to receive his 8-week shots, so we can actually take him out into the world with greater confidence. Until then, we are still hoarding him and watching the other three fight over holding him. Still can’t get them to fight over dirty diapers.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.'” -Matthew 19:14
Scottish Invasion 