Today I pulled out three very special quilts that were hand-made for each of our children.  Our special friend Myrleen, who had served in Japan with my in the early 90s, had carefully selected the fabric and pattern for each one when we announced the addition of each child.  They are each unique and wonderful.

I showed these quilts to my ladies’ English class today during our informal chapel time, and shared about Myrleen and our special relationship.  We only get to see her once every few years as she lives in Oregon, but those visits are very special.  The quilts remind me of our relationship and mutual affection.

And then I shared how these quilts remind me of God’s special relationship with us.  We read together from Psalm 139:13-16: (here is the English version, even though we read it in Japanese):

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

***

During the whole English class, our new little foster baby, Y-kun, was being passed around and shared by all the ladies.

After we read this passage, I shared about Y–.  He came to stay with us on Monday — we don’t know for how long yet.  He will be two weeks old tomorrow.  He has melted all of our hearts.

It is interesting as we have had Japanese friends visit or ask about him to hear their first reaction:  “kawai-so” – or, “what a shame”.  So today I shared that I have heard that a lot over the past few days, and I understand why people say that, but I think the opposite — what amazing joy!  Y-kun was knit together in his birth mother’s womb.  He has been given life by His Heavenly Father.  God has a unique and special plan for his life.  And God is allowing us to be a part of the start of it.  What amazing joy!   (OK – so the every-3-hour-bottle-shifts during the night are making us feel our age.  We are trying not to be too crabby during the day.  But both of us say that even during the middle night when we “get” to hold this little one it really is — joy).

It is very far out of the realm of most Japanese to think in these terms –of a personal, loving Creator God;  of children each being made unique and special for purposes of God; of foster care and adoption somehow being much more than an act of sheer goodwill.

But today– they saw it for themselves — they held him!  The little 4 kilogram boy who was specially knit together in his birth mother’s womb.  I don’t think there is anything quite like holding a newborn baby that allows us to see the sheer beauty and extravagant love of a Creator God.  Y-kun, and all of our children, remind us again of the amazing privilege we have to be both adopted and adopters.

The next three hour shift is upon me; I will be praying for the eight ladies today that the truth of the Word and the reality of their experiences will rock their world as they realize that they, too, have been woven with great purpose.