Saturday, April 26, 2008

Australia

I get this question so much. "Have I ever thought of adoption?" I think our brains would have to have been missing in action if we had not thought of it. But yes we would like to consider it in a few years when we have more the ability to pay for another $10-20k kid. They come much more slowly at that cost. We don't feel it's right for us right now to go into debt in that area -- and I have passionate feelings against using LDS Social Services based on experiences some of my friends have had -- I think that route would cause me more emotional damage than I can handle. It's a long story. I saw on another blog this story about adoption, and having a good number of friends who have adopted I wanted to share it.

ADOPTION IS LIKE AUSTRALIA

Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You've heard it's a wonderful place, you've read many guide-books and feel certain you're ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip. So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there is no seat for you; you'll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait --- and wait --- and wait.

Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, "Relax. You'll get on a flight soon." Other people actually get on a plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, "It's no fair!" After a long time the ticket agent tells you, "I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat." "By BOAT!" you say. "Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane."

So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends and family have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip.

Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air. People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel only once, perhaps twice.

Some say things like, "Oh, be glad you didn't fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy." You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not in the way you get there, but in the place itself.


I don't know how we fit in, :-) maybe a plane docked on our boat halfway there and let us on, I guess? But I feel the same way at feeling I have been blessed with a special appreciation of "Australia" that not everyone is granted. Oh the blessings of Ellie. She truly is my "Balm of Gilead".

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed the story. Thanks for sharing. Our girls are such blessings for us! And look how awesome they both are. I wouldn't change it for the world or any non-stop pampered trip to Australia!

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