December 24, 2010
Dear Lucy Hope,
Tonight at church, we had a candle-light come and go
communion service to celebrate Christmas, as we do every year. We had been
thinking about you for some time already and had even made mention to our
friends at Lifeline Children’s Services that we thought God wasn’t finished
adding to our family. We thought that there might be one other little girl
somewhere in China who would be our daughter, a sister for Austin, Lily Grace,
and Lia Faith. So, we came early to the service and shared our thoughts about
you with Brother Eddie, our pastor, for the first time and he said we should
pray about it together. So, after receiving Holy Communion on December 24,
2010, we prayed and asked God what would be His guidance for us in seeking you.
His answer was found in Hebrews 11:1 “Now,
Faith is being sure of what we Hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
We had thought that God might want us to name you “Hope” and
over the days leading up to Christmas, the word Hope kept showing up everywhere
we looked. It even showed up at our Christmas party for my Upward Basketball
teams. We had reserved the new fellowship hall at our church, Isom’s Chapel, for
the party and at the last minute, I learned that someone else had also reserved
the hall. So we agreed to have our party in the old fellowship hall, just two
nights before we would pray with the pastor over you. The old fellowship hall
is rarely used these days, but it is a really interesting place to visit and learn
about our church. As I was setting up for the party, I came across a picture of
Mr. and Mrs. Isom, the original founders of the church over 120 years ago.
After studying the picture for some time, I looked down underneath the picture
and there was a large stone into which had been carved the word “Hope.” I’d
been in this fellowship hall many times, but had never noticed the stone. Tears
immediately filled my eyes, as I realized that, perhaps, our “Hope” was not
just our plan, but God’s plan too. I couldn’t wait to share the story with
everyone else, but that would have to wait – no one knows yet. But this one
night, I began to be comforted by the “hope” that God’s plan would lead us to
you. Soon.
After praying and speaking with Brother Eddie that Christmas
Eve, it was clear to us that seeking you was indeed God’s plan for our lives
and we were happy about that. Christmas 2010 was now taking on a whole new
meaning to us. That we, who were adopted by God as His sons and daughters,
would now be allowed to adopt again into our family was the greatest Christmas
present we could ‘hope’ for. We hugged the pastor and celebrated together in
the sanctuary at Isom’s Chapel, knowing that we were no longer a family of
five, but now a family of six. All we needed to do was find you.
We came home from church that night to our first Christmas Eve
with you in our lives, even though we hadn’t yet met you. Christmas took on a
higher level of inspirational memories for our family as we thought about you
more and more. Later that night, after we finally fell asleep, it began to
snow. It snowed throughout the night and when we woke up Christmas morning, God
had blanketed the earth with a half a foot of snow! It was a beautiful morning,
with everything covered in the white fluffy snow and the air filled with
snowflakes, each constructed by God to be unlike any other, just as He forms
each of us. Now, you have to know that it rarely snows in our home state of Alabama
and, then, never on Christmas Day. This was the first real white Christmas that
we’d ever seen as a family and we’re pretty sure it was because God was happy
that we’d found His plan for how our lives would meet yours. A somewhat selfish
thought, I admit, but I don’t think anyone else can explain why the largest
Christmas Day snow in our lifetimes occurred the day after we prayed and asked
God to help us find you. It kept snowing throughout the day on Christmas and we
made snowmen and played in the snow all day long, smiling inside at the secret
we shared with God that this was the day He had made and we were glad in it. At
Christmas dinner that afternoon, we began to share the news of you with our
family and they were all very excited. Even Flashlight, our 5 ft snowman with
Flashlight eyes, seemed to be smiling about you.
Welcome to our family, Lucy Hope. We can’t wait to learn
more about you as soon as possible. We love you very much.
Mommy and Daddy
Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, Lia Faith, and Lucy Hope
Green, Party of Six
