It's Saturday, I know.  Yesterday was busy and today I have 5 minutes (okay, more like 15!) to write. So I'm a little behind...story of my life!  But here's my 5-ish minutes on

Empty

Yesterday was the 6th anniversary of Ethan's homecoming.  I still remember the day we saw him, curled up in a ball, sleeping in a crib in a room full of crawlers in that orphanage.

He was bigger than we'd pictured.  He looked as though he'd been fattened up, but he certainly was not healthy.  Snot oozed from his little nose and his chest was wheezy.

The first night in our Indian hotel with him was surreal.  I looked at this little guy, who'd never seen white skin before nor heard much english, and he just looked so...independent, I guess.  Unattached, but needy.  A little lost.

He had his first bath in a tub.  Screamed louder than anyone in that high dollar hotel wanted him to.  He was clueless what to do with the cheerios I had brought, having never put hand-to-food-to-mouth before at seventeen months old.

And back at our guest house in Delhi, he grew hotter and more ill than any child I'd ever held.  Would they even let us on the plane?

We adopted not because our hearts were empty, nor our house.  The love of God has been poured out in our hearts, and He's blessed us with 5 children  now.  There are myriad reasons for adopting, and I believe God motivated us to fill the empty in Ethan Shashwat.

We had an empty seat at the table.  An extra place in the car. Arms that could hold more and laps that needed sitting.

God provided empty places for more of His love to pour into.

And to make that little crib in Pune, Maharashta, India, empty for another to be cared for and placed in permanence.