A few weeks ago, I asked to see the file of a four year old girl that has a few needs, but perhaps most significantly, she has a severe deformity of her right foot. It is remarkable to me that she can walk on it! Many conversations in the house since then have centered around this little girl and whether or not she is our daughter. Her cute little smile and infectious laugh is fully implanted on my heart. I don't know that we are the best family for her. After all, we are both active duty Coast Guard members! My husband is right when he says that she needs a stay at home mom that can help her in ways that I cannot. I just know that little one needs a family! She needs a mommy and daddy to love her, advocate for her. Parents who will go to the ends of the earth to help her walk without pain and set her up for the best possible life she can have! So, I put her little face on my cell phone and every time I go to unlock it, I see her and pray to God that she finds the family she deserves.
Not long after reading her file, we were looking for a book in the children's section of our local book store when I came across this. Intrigued, I read the inner panel and decided it may be a great read for Katelynn and I. I ended up reading the entire book in one night on my own before ever beginning it with Katie!! I could not put it down!!!
This book tugged at my heart in so many ways. This tells the story of a newly adopted "older child" and her quest to find a family for her best friend, whom she left behind. It tells the story of her life as she adjusts to her new family and becomes more and more determined to find her friend, who was never lucky enough to have her club foot repaired, into a family of her own before she ages out.
I keep thinking of this little girl, the real life one, who has never had the opportunity to have her foot repaired. Who has other things in her file that could scare off potential families, the same way it does mine. What is to come of her? Who will take the leap of faith and decide to love her no matter what? There's just something about that little girl. This book made me fearful for her. What if she doesn't find a family? After reading this book, I knew that I can do something for her... I can pray.
So that's what I do! I pray for her... EVERY DAY. She may not be my daughter, but she deserves to have someone out there praying for her every day. Praying that she has enough to eat, praying that she is getting the physical therapy she needs, praying that she gets her surgery, praying that the orphanage allows her to start her education when its time, and praying that her family finds her soon.
Read the book, I know all you big hearted families will love it!!!
This is on my reading list as well! Another book that is more about the history of China that might be good for your daughter is Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. The cultural revolution is not exactly a warm and fuzzy topic so you might want to read it together, but the book is written in a way that makes it easy for children to understand.
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