One little hand…

Meeting Michael…

I wondered how the first meeting with our newly adopted grandson, Michael, now five, would be? Would he understand the family connection and accept me as his “Grammy?”

A hundred thoughts danced through my mind as we prepared for the trip to meet with our Idaho daughter and her family.

Michael had lost his birth mother, his adoptive mother, and been in a number of foster care situations; some good, some bad, and the little boy was only four when my daughter felt constrained by God to add this little misplaced person to her growing family of two teenage daughters and one son, now eleven.

Her home in the rugged and picturesque northern panhandle of Idaho was ideal for those who love the laid-back country life where horses graze in pastures of wildflowers and vegetable gardens grow and are put away for the winter. The root cellar added last year was the latest “back to the earth” innovation to Kathy’s healthy eating, living, and home schooling life style. This little boy, “nobody’s child,” would now belong to a real family, a Christian family who would teach him to love and serve God. Of course, this would be an adjustment for everyone concerned. But, if anyone could manage the challenges this entailed, our daughter, husband, and family could make a home for Michael.

In book 2, Wild Rose of Promise, the Wildrose series, we meet Sarah Faye, a child unwanted and unloved. My mind has gone to that portion of my book many times since I knew Michael would soon join our extended family. Like Sarah Faye, he deserved a chance to have a good life, to have a strong foundation for his future.

First Meeting: Michael was small with dark hair and big brown eyes. He walked up to me, a smile spreading across his face. I knew his mother had schooled him for this special first meeting.

“Are you my Grammy?” he queried. He never stopped smiling.

“Yes, I am your own Grammy, your mommy’s mother.”

A warm little hand slipped softly into mine and he said looking up at me, “Grammy…I love you.” Then he threw his arms around me and gave me a hot little kiss and a warm hug. Such total and unconditional acceptance of me melted my heart.

One more time, I fell in love.