Abby and Tucker

In the midst of an older child adoption, I often feel like I am left holding a bag of puzzle pieces.  I find myself fervently trying to put the puzzle together, only to find that none of the pieces match and that many pieces are simply missing.  Abby's childhood is like the puzzle pieces, a bag of mismatched memories..some good, some bad, some very specific, and some beginning to fade with time.

A few days ago, two of the pieces came together just perfectly....a perfect match.   You see, in China, Abby had a friend named Hu Nan.   Hu Nan was a year younger than Abby.  He was adopted a few months after Abby and now lives in Texas.  His American name is Tucker.

In China, Abby and Tucker were the best of friends.  Their faces were seen often in newspapers, newscasts, and even television segments showcasing the life of an orphan.  Why they were chosen for this role is one of those missing puzzle pieces....something that I will likely never know.   But the fact that they were put into the spotlight so often, gives me information about Abby's past that I may otherwise have never known.

In nearly every picture that I have of Abby, Tucker is right there as well.  It appears that they were very close...Abby often refers to him as her brother.

After Tucker was adopted, Abby was able to reconnect with him through FaceTime, but the distance between Texas and Georgia made a visit seem unlikely.   However, God had other ideas as Tucker's family began to make plans to vacation in Tennessee.   Tennessee is not that far from Georgia, right??  

So this past weekend, we loaded up and headed north and found ourselves in Sewanee, Tennessee.  Tucker was waiting on the lawn as we drove up.   No sooner than I had the car in park, Abby jumped from the car and ran to see her special friend from China.  They were both smiling from ear to ear, so happy to be together again!  

They had a great weekend together and as they played and laughed, I watched in amazement.  Both so gentle and considerate of one another, I couldn't help but think that Abby and Tucker were lifelines to each other inside the walls of that Chinese orphanage.  I would bet that Abby learned compassion and selflessness through her friendship with Tucker.  I watched as they held hands, shared an ice cream cone, and just enjoyed being kids in America.  

As the weekend drew to a close, there were definitely some tears.   Abby knew she was about to have to say goodbye to her friend.  I prayed that God would bring her comfort, but once again, God had something better in mind.   Tucker shared plenty of hugs and kisses and by the time he was finished saying goodbye, he and Abby were both giggling too hard to be sad!   

And while I expected Abby to be upset today as we returned home, she surprisingly seemed to be at peace.   Maybe knowing her friend is safe and loved by his new family is the piece of the puzzle we were missing all along.