Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Happy 2nd Gotcha Day, Kiefer Thomas!

Cooper and Conner travel HOME Kiev to Austin 1743

It’s so hard to believe that it’s just been two years since God sent us Kiefer Thomas Patterson.  Our lives have changed so drastically since the time Kiefer joined our family.  There’s been joy unspeakable, but also grief unimaginable.

 

None of us ever expected Kiefer to come to our family just two weeks before our princess Chrissie’s major open-heart surgery.  None of us ever would have ever guessed that Kiefer would only know his big sissie for just two weeks.  None of us thought for a second that Chrissie wouldn’t come home from the hospital after her surgery, but she would go live with Jesus instead.

 

None of us realized just how much of a special gift from God Kiefer was until Chrissie went to live with Jesus.  It was shortly after Chrissie’s passing that we began to process God’s timing of sending Kiefer to our family.  Before Chrissie’s surgery, we simply couldn’t fathom why God would choose to deliver Kiefer to our family just two weeks before Chrissie’s surgery.  It certainly wasn’t ideal timing to bring a new child into our family just two weeks before Chrissie would endure a massive undertaking to repair her heart.  That meant Mom and Dad would spend many consecutive and continuous days and nights at the hospital, away from our brand new son, Kiefer.  That’s obviously not ideal circumstances for Kiefer either…to be torn out of his culture, his language, his life, and be tossed into a family where Mom and Dad completely disappear just two weeks after going to live with them with no understanding of what was happening or why these new people left or when these new people would ever return…or even IF these new people would ever return!

 

Oh, but God knew.  He knew just how much WE needed Kiefer.  It wasn’t as much about Kiefer needing us as it was about us needing him.  When we came home from the hospital May 19, 2010, without our beloved princess (because she had gone to live with Jesus), we seriously didn’t know how life could possibly go on.  But God knew.  He knew all along.  He knew the smiling face of a precious 23-month-old Haitian boy would surely help us to praise Jesus in our storm.  God knew that having a toddler in our home would force us to get out of bed each morning, knowing we needed to take care of this sweet boy, no matter how much our hearts had shattered because of the loss of Chrissie.  God knew this little Haitian hero would be His chosen vessel to minister to our family through the deepest valley we’ve ever walked.  God knew His very special gift to our family would grow and blossom into an incredible little guy who bubbles with joy, always keeps us laughing, and is the most talented 3-year-old cowboy in all of history.  He can even rope a real cow and ride a real horse!  God knew so much more than we did.  His timing is ALWAYS perfect, even when it doesn’t appear that way.

 

We simply thought we were rescuing an orphan from the horrific aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti January 12, 2010, but God knew better.  You see, God used Kiefer to RESCUE us.

 

We know so little as measly humans living on earth.  God is so  much more than we can possibly begin to fathom.  His ways are so much higher.  We praise our Abba Father for trusting us enough to bless us with our little Haitian hero, Kiefer Thomas Patterson.

 

Kiefer, we love and treasure you more than words can convey.  You bring so much joy, love, life, and laughter to our family.  Thank you for being so courageous.  You’ll always be our Haitian hero.

 

Kiefer’s adoption story is told in three parts on our blog:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  I never know which day to claim as Kiefer’s Gotcha Day because Mattie and I met him April 1, 2010, we began the journey to Texas April 2, but it wasn’t until April 3 that our entire family got to meet him.  And to add even more confusion to the dates, Kiefer was officially adopted December 29, 2010.  Today our family celebrates two years of having Kiefer in our family.  We bow at the Throne of heaven and praise Him for His good and perfect gift of Kiefer Thomas Patterson.

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