Price. Process. Promise

Friendships are among life’s sweetest blessings.

People who care deeply.

             People who allow you to be yourself.

                         People who give you the safety to ask hard questions.           

                                   People to whom you can tell your honest and imperfect feelings. 

                                              People who remind you of the Truth, even when you can't see it. 

This week, I found myself deeply impacted by this kind of friendship. I was texting with a friend about our current stage in the adoption process. As I was going through the to-do list in my mind, I started to tell her of all of the forms, appointments and questions we had to work through, books we had to read and trainings we had to start. I deleted that text and simply responded,

I’m feeling overwhelmed by the price and process of adoption.

After I sent that simple message, I stopped. I stared at my phone. Two words stood out to me, 

price and process. I began to think about the price and process of my adoption as a child of God. 

[PRICE]

God gave His only Son to die for us. We were His enemy, incapable of saving ourselves. Helpless and evil, God willingly sacrificed the life of His Son so we could become His. I think of Asher, my only son, and I shudder at the thought of anything happening to his life. I can't even fathom exchanging his life for my enemy. The price is unimaginable. 

[PROCESS]

Not only did Jesus die for us, He willingly became human. Think of all He lost as He became human. Living in Heaven, as fully God, He knew no boundaries. He was not limited by time or space. He never experienced separation from God. He was not a created being. He humbled Himself to be human. All of a sudden, He was confined to an imperfect, human body. He was limited by time. His body was prone to sickness and fatigue. His body needed rest.  He was in relationship with sinful, broken people. He cried. He lost. He suffered. His process was full of brokeness. 

[PROMISE]

Because of the price and process of our adoption, we are now God's children. God gave His only son to die so that we could be His sons and daughters rather than His enemy. Jesus lived as a human so that we could live eternally. Jesus experienced human life so that we can have a God who not only hears our cries, but knows our suffering. He experienced our pain, cried our tears and felt our brokenness. Even more than our greatest earthly friendships, our relationship with God brings deep comfort and meaning because he experienced our pain.

Friendships are an incredible blessing. They are a powerful representation of what our relationship with God can be. We have a Savior who knows our sorrows and walks with us in great compassion every day. 

As our family continues on this journey, we will surely feel the weight of the process and the price of adoption. What an incredible reminder of the process, price and promise of our adoption into God's family.