Love Language (a selection from Passionate Life coming fall 2017!
In January 2013 my sister became a mom for the first time to
three amazing teenagers. They just happen to be from Ukraine. After a two-year spiritual, emotional, and
financial battle to legally call them their own, I decided to board a plane and
fly across the ocean to see them! My
sister and brother-in-law were serving as missionaries when God finally made
them parents. Of course Auntie Heidi had
to meet them! Although they were going
to come to America just 2 short months, I wanted to meet them in their culture,
with their language and food and all the weird things I will come to love about
them. If my sister birthed them, of
course I would be in the hospital room, so why not meet them in their origin of
the birth of a new family.
My flight got in really late, and my niece and two nephews
were not there to greet me at the airport (bummer). My sister had waited 13 years for these
babies, she was going to start them on great sleeping schedule, although they
were 14, 15 and 16 years of age. When we
got to their house, she told me I could go upstairs and hug them. The minute I opened the bedroom door this
angel sat straight up and even in the dark I could see her perfectly-white
giant smile. IT WAS IMMEDIATE LOVE. I cannot describe it. My heart literally leapt out of my chest and
I knew I was the aunt that would cry with her when that boy breaks her heart,
that will eat chocolate and watch movies, that will take her shopping and buy
her anything she wanted. It was
indescribable. She wrapped her arms
around me and said in a very thick Russian accent “Good Morning”. (she meant Good Night and I was
smitten). And that exact scenario
happened twice more with my nephews.
My sister and brother-in-law had been on a team to translate
the Bible in the Tat tar language.
Tatars are a people group living among the Ukrainians. This group of people have always been
ostracized, a group less then others.
They are the outcast and overlooked.
My sister has always had a heart for this kind of a people so it was no
surprised when she was called to translate God’s Word for them. While serving, she also worked at an
orphanage. This is where she had met
Dima and Victor. She volunteered in
their first grade class, taking them on field trips, providing gifts,
educational material, workshops, and spiritually pouring into these 8-9 year
old institutionalized kids without parents.
She fell in love with each and every kid. Dima was the golden child; the bright one,
the favored one, the teacher’s pet.
Victor was not. He was picked on,
beat up, and a little awkward. My sister
loved each and every one, but these two had a special place in her heart.
After years of battling infertility I asked why she would
not just adopt. Like go to the orphanage and pick a kid and come home and live
Happy Ever After. (so naive) Her words
exactly and a pierce right to my heart-- “How do I pick?! How unfair!”
But I knew she wanted to be a real mommy to these kids. She was weary
and tired of leaving each day to not know what happens at night, when they were
sick, not be taken care of. Her heart was
longing but how in the world could she chose?
After much prayer, and one after another child got adopted from that
class (Which is completely a miracle in itself.
Kids in that “special” institution just don’t get adopted, especially
almost an entire class) God was parting
the waters. And guess who was standing
right there in the middle: Dima and
Victor. The ones she was meant to
have. (Three years later I still cry
tears of joy.)
During the entire process of major ups and downs, victories
and losses-(which I highly recommend you read her blog- she should be writing
the book not me!)** (In fact, please read her blog-grinnlife.blogspot.com) She and Matt found that Victor and Dima had sisters and
brothers. Ukrainian law, at that time, stated
that you have to adopt the entire sibling groups So they opened the paper work to accept not
just two kids, but five! Through the
investigation process they found one brother was too old, one sister was
already with a foster family some how (pray for her) and then there was
Tanya. Our bright-eyed-giant-smiled-curly-red-headed
precious Tanya!
Apparently Tanya was exactly a little orphan-Annie. She was confident, in charge, and mothered
everyone in that orphanage. She did not
need a family and she was apprehensive.
Some how though, my sister wooed her into our family and we cannot
imagine life without her.
The first morning I really got to see them in the light
Tammy let me do a devotion and she translated.
I so badly wanted to talk and ask questions and get to know my new
family but the language barrier was discouraging. So I tried to act out everything. Each evening that week I would lie in bed
with Tanya and read children stories in English and try to act out the story. She would laugh until she fell out of the
bed. We fell in love. With hardly any words exchanged she, Victor,
Dima and I bonded. I WAS THEIR AUNT HEIDI!
And we didn’t have to say a word—we all just knew it.
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| First Morning I ever saw them! |
I hear all the time how hard it is to believe because they
can’t ‘hear’ God. They talk and talk but
receive no response. The week I met my
new family we shared maybe 3-4 real-understandable words, but it did not deter
love from growing. We couldn’t understand
one another and it didn’t stop a bond from cultivating. I can just imagine God jumping around trying
to explain His love in a way we will hear it.
He is hugging, laughing, creating, and totally in love with you. It is possible friend. You can feel His Love without ‘hearing His
voice’.
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| Gotcha day! They were a family! From left to right: Victor, Matt, Tammy, Tanya, and Dima |
I am just the Aunt and 100% into my niece and nephews. Imagine being their parents. They went through hell to get them, and will
do it again. In fact they are doing it
again! (true saints ya’ll) Same with our
Heavenly Father. He went through HELL to
bring us home. He is holy and perfect
and we are not. That mere fact separates
us. There had to be something to bridge
the gap, something to overcome the language barrier and he provided it. He is so smitten in love with you, He
demonstrated it through a cruel death.
Just like me trying to act out Three Pigs with my niece- He acted out
love by covering our un-holiness so we can be adopted into his family. Omy word that is Love and it is YOU He
loves. Do you see it beloved? He knows every freckle, thought, white lie,
stupid joke and He is still totally and utterly and completely in love with
you. Enough to die to be with you!
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| Dima, Tanya, Victor |
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| Tanya and Me (Photo bomb with Grand Parents!) |
