Abby and Zeke

The boys and I spent today with some new friends.  

Abby spent today with a friend she has known for years.  

Let me tell you what an incredible blessing this was for her.  You see, in the last few months, Abby has given up alot.  

She has said goodbye to all of her friends, to everyone she has ever known.  Everyone.

She has left behind a country and a heritage, one that is steeped in traditions and culture that will always be foreign to her new family.  

She has said goodbye to a language that she has spoken for the last eight years, a language that is so very different than the one she is learning now.

You see, Abby has given up EVERYTHNG for a family. And while I would always insist that a family is exactly what she needed, I cannot forget the loss that goes hand in hand with that decision.

So today, reconnecting with an old friend was such a special gift for her.  It gives her one link to her past, however small.  It gives her one connection to someone who shares her history, one connection to someone who has walked the same path as she has, one connection to her past.  It is a gift that I am praising God for, because you see, God always knew these two children from a little town in northern China would one day become friends again on American soil.