Rejoicing in the Inheritance

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
And you will be called priests of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

 Instead of your shame
    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours.

 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
    and make an everlasting covenant with them.
 Their descendants will be known among the nations
    and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
    that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”

I delight greatly in the Lord;
    my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
    and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
    and praise spring up before all nations.

Our children's past is their own private past, even though today I walk alongside them and help carry some of those burdens.  I live daily with the effects of what happened in their past before becoming a part of our family and I am uniquely familiar with each of their stories because I am their mom.  I cannot understand exactly what they have lived through because their stories in adoption are not my story.  We each have different stories and we each respond differently.  It takes time and maturity for children to be able to understand and accept their own stories and to see what God has done and is doing in their lives.  

I love these precious children.  They are resilient.  They are survivors.  They are overcomers.  They are image-bearers of God, fearfully and wonderfully made.  They are cherished and dearly loved by their dad and I, by their grandparents, by aunts and uncles and cousins, by their church family and friends.  

We are humbled to have been chosen by God to walk this journey with these amazing children.  It hasn't always been easy.  The burdens they carry haven't always been light or typical or uncomplicated.  Instead, at times their burdens have been very heavy, very complex, and very complicated.  Knowing that God is at work sustaining our family and doing His work exchanging  the brokenness of the past for His promises of future grace has made all the difference.

We delight in seeing God give beauty for ashes.  Little glimpses one at a time, day by day, we see God bringing joy in place of mourning, bringing praise in place of despair.  It is our prayer that ultimately any shame or despair or sorrow would be replaced with a double portion of rejoicing in the inheritance of a family.  And not just an earthly inheritance and family, but an eternal inheritance and family with everlasting joy.