... we had almost made it home. The baby started fussing, getting hungry and we decided to stop for a quick bite to eat. We had been on vacation and had been on the road for many hours. We were about one and a half hours from home, so we were anxious to just eat and run. It was a fast food spot - Wendy's. We thought we could get in and out fairly quickly. But then, we walked in the door!
As I walked in holding little man, a young girl ( about 16-17 years) spotted us immediately. We seem to be hard to miss. She was an employee there and was replacing condiments and napkins at a counter in the center of the eating area. She said hello and started smiling and cooing over little man. It happens often (have you seen this kid, helllllloooo), so I didn't think much about it.
That is, until she came and sat down at the table with us. Hubby was at the counter ordering our food, so she just sat down and cooed and talked and touched little man. She asked all of the typical questions - How old? - Can he talk? Is he deaf ( since he was signing)? Then proclaiming his perfection - I couldn't help but agree with her assessment!! Then she asked if we had adopted him. I said yes. When did you get him, she asked? At birth , I answered. We were there for his birth, so we were with him immediately.
She looked longingly at both little man and I and said " I sure wish I'd been adopted. Maybe, then I wouldn't be in this lame place (remember she is only a kid), with these lame people, in this lame town". I wasn't sure how to respond. Was she angry with her parents or in foster care or what? I didn't want to pry either, so I left it alone.
As we are trying to eat our meal, yet another young girl comes to our table. She is also an employee of the restaurant. We are trying to be nice, but of course, we would also like to eat our food - quickly and while it's still warm. This young lady's question and answer time was pretty similar to the first girl. However, she said, as she was stroking his cheek, that she was in the foster care system. Again, What to say to that?
She asked if he could have a toy and I asked what kind it was. I agreed to a little stuffed turtle and I thought she was going to jump through the roof with excitement.
When she came back with the toy, she said " this is from me and my sister back there". I understood that she meant the first girl that visited with us. The first girl was African American, the second was Caucasian and they were probably the same age.This is when I realized that both of these girls were in the foster care system - and had been all their lives!!!!
The looks on their faces as they touched and cooed over little man broke our hearts. These girls had been dreaming of a family - all of their lives!!! They were truly happy for our precious little one, yet you could see the wanting in their eyes.
At one point during this visit, the first girl reached over and took little man's hand in hers and said " I hope you become something great in this world". My heart melted.
For those two young women (who live with 12 others in their foster home), I pray that they too become something wonderful in this world. I pray for love and security and stability. I pray Jesus for them. Yes, we did talk briefly about Jesus. As little man bowed his head and we signed our blessing ( yes they were there for it all), we were able to speak for a moment. They didn't let us say much, they had so much to say.
It happened along the way.... that we were touched beyond measure by two young women that showed pure joy and love about a little boy who was adopted.