It Takes A Village

On Saturday, I went through some pictures with the Babe’s foster mother. Many pictures that, surprisingly, I have never seen before. Moments we were not present for. Smiles we never saw, laughter we never heard.

While part of me is sad that we have missed so much of her life already, I was at peace, looking through each picture, hearing her foster mother share the stories behind them.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. But maybe a better way to say it is that a child brings people together in a way nothing else can, in ways no one expects. We weren’t able be Babe’s family from the start, but the truly remarkable and wonderful thing is that there was a family for her, right when she needed them.

And folks, this family is amazing. And they love her so much.

I would be lying if I said they were perfect–what family is?–but I don’t know how else to explain the love we have for them. They aren’t perfect, perhaps, but they were perfect for this Babe, at the right time, and in welcoming us into their lives. They are our family now, too.

After we move the Babe to our house, the transition for all involved will be rough, I know. And I’m sure I’ll be calling the foster mother frequently, “Is this normal? What should I do when…? If she’s feeling this way, what does it mean? She did the cutest thing today!” But, practical matters aside, we would never forget this family. They have been part of our story, part of the Babe’s story, and we can’t leave them behind in the past.

I hope and pray that we are able to be a part of our Babe’s life forever, but even if we are not, we have an important part to play now. We have to live her life with her, remembering her stories, Her smiles, her laughter, and her tears, in the time we have with her. We need to pass them on–hopefully to her younger siblings, to her friends, to her fiancé someday, to her children, and to her grandchildren. But at least we will pass them on to the next people in her story, whoever they may be. That is our job right now. Today.

It isn’t an easy thing to bring a baby into one’s home, knowing goodbye may come sooner than one wants. But I pray that, with God’s grace, we can Love this Babe as well as (and right along with!) her first family.

Let it be so, Lord. Give us all the courage to continue to be family, and to Love well.