And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body (Romans 8:23).

In today’s mail, I received a lovely surprise – our daughter’s amended birth certificate! After opening the envelope and seeing the contents, I called my daughter in the room to see it as well. We were both so excited to see my name as her mommy and my husband’s name as her father. She just kept hugging me and kept pointing to the names on the document.

We’re still waiting for her brother’s amended birth certificate and our copy of the finalized decree (the initial decree signed last July was an interlocutory decree). Even so, today’s official paperwork was nothing short of amazing.

Though the novelty of the adoption has worn off a bit, seeing the amended birth certificate brings all the special memories of the last two year’s journey flooding back. I think it’s due in part also to the fact that right around this time last year, we got the news that we had a court date to finalize the adoption.

Even though the children have “felt” like ours from the moment we saw their pictures on our computer screen as an e-mail attachment from the social worker handling their case, there’s something about having it in print that thrills the soul.

For the longest time, before becoming a Christian, I felt somewhat aimless. Once I was baptized, there was something about knowing that I really, truly had a Father who loved me that seemed to settle my soul down. I think it’s the same for my children.

The social worker handling our adoption told us time and again how the kids were seeking parents. How they desperately wanted to call someone “Mommy” and “Daddy.” Then, today, to see our names in print in the corresponding boxes to Mother and Father was thrilling!

As my oldest turns 10 this week, I find myself harkening back to the night of his birth. Now, with this new document in our adoption dossier, I find myself reliving our adoption journey as well. As a good friend of ours at church is fond of saying when he’s pleased with something, “It’s a beautiful thing!”

Photo credit