As I say my nightly prayers I always go over my usual list of individuals I pray for. As life goes on and things change so do my prayer requests and people who make or break the list. Currently I pray for my husband, my family, my married into family, Luis my godson in Honduras and his three siblings in the orphanage, and usually lastly myself every night and then I throw in after whatever else might be on my mind given the current moment or whomever needs some extra prayers. Recently as it has become more and more real that in the coming months we will welcome into our home a child or children therefore I have added a new permanent member to my list of prayers and that is our future foster children. As I travel through our home during the day I find myself observing more and praying more frequently for the ten toes and ten fingers that may grace our lives soon.
- As I walk past our kitchen table I pray you are not hungry right now. I pray you are getting nutritious food in your belly be it if you are already here in this world somewhere or still in your mothers belly. I promise we have a lot of room at our table for you and will never let you go hungry.
- As I stub my toe I pray you are not in any physical or emotional pain and are being loved on by someone in your life. If you are not yet born I pray you are not being hurt in utero with drug substances or brutal force, that your mother is instead rubbing her stomach sweetly talking to you. I promise when you come here we will try to shelter and protect you with all of our might and not let anyone hurt you. I promise we will love you even if you don't want our love....we know you will eventually come around.
- I pray you are not scared and that you are wrapped in comfort. I promise we will wrap you in hugs and kisses daily and make you feel secure while you are with us.
- As I walk past both rooms that one day you will call one of them yours, even if for a short time, I see all the colorful children books already lined on the bookshelf and I pray someone is reading you a bedtime story tonight. I promise we will read you that "one more story" before tucking you in and giving you sweet kisses as you drift off to sleep in the comfort of your crib or bed.
- As I walk past both rooms with everything set up nicely for your arrival I pray someone is making a special place for you in their home too. I pray you have a soft warm place to lay your head and sleep tonight. I promise we will have a room for you all ready to make you feel special and worthy. Warm blankets and fluffy pillows are on all the beds and the crib awaiting for you to lay your head safely down to sleep in.
- When I say my prayers I pray someone is praying over you and your protection tonight. I promise we will say bed time prayers with you or over you each and every night. He has great plans for you and we will pray each day and night that His plan be unveiled while we raise you while in our care to know Him and lean on Him for guidance.
- As I walk through different stores or are given hand-me-downs (my favorite!) clothes I pray the clothes on you today are clean and fit you properly. I promise we will have a nice choice of different clean outfits for you to wear each day all lovingly washed by us and just for you.
- As I see others around us fighting I pray about the ugly situation around you that is coming to a head and that I hope someone is protecting your little heart and ears from what may be being said or the violence that may be swirling around you. I promise we will never put you in the middle of a disagreement and we will never let anyone take out their anger on you ever. We will build up your heart and spirit not tear it down.
- As I tell my husband every night that I love him I pray someone is raining "I love you's" upon you and genuinely meaning it. I promise with us there will be a lot of genuine "I love you's" even during the hardest and toughest times. There will also be a lot of "I'm sorry's" from not only you but also us as we all navigate our sudden family dynamics but there will always be assurance from us that you are loved and cared for.
- As I ponder how soon you will be forcibly removed from your home environment or your mothers womb and placed forcibly into our home we pray for understanding and wisdom for you with the sudden drastic changes that will be coming. I promise we will do everything we can to make you comfortable and explain what we can to you about what is happening. We will rock you as you mourn the loss of loved ones and try to make the adjustment as trauma free as possible. You have lost everything you have ever known and been placed with strangers, we know you will be scared, shocked, likely unresponsive, and likely to put up a fight wanting your familiarity back. I promise we will let you grieve and try to reassure you that everything is going to be ok and that you are safe.
- As I greet family members I pray about the day that I will meet your mom and dad, you will meet my mom and dad and Brian's mom as well as the rest of our siblings, family, and friends. I promise they will accept you for who you are and who you are not because they are an incredible bunch of people in our lives with endless support and more love to shower upon you.
As this whole process has seemed like it will never end, I truly believe God is doing everything in His perfect timing. He already has you picked out as a specific child for us, possibly even with a sibling, who will need us at a very specific point in time. He has it planned out to the very minute as He has plans for all of us and soon our lives will become intertwined, for a season or possibly for a lifetime.
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