Words to Grow On

Archive Devotions

August 16, 2004

“Amanda’s Story”
By

Lt. Colonel Gloria Hohn

“How blessed is God! Long, long ago, he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. What pleasure he took in planning this!” [Ephesians 1:3-5 – Eugene Peterson, The Message:

The phone call came in the middle of my busy afternoon. “We’re off – next Friday,” my daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, shouted. Although I knew the call would be coming, it still overwhelmed me to think that I would accompany Elizabeth to Siberia to meet our new granddaughter-to-be.

Little Irina was born on May 5, 2003, in a mid-sized city deep in the heart of Russia. Abandoned at birth, she was put into an international adoption database, and was accepted by my son Scott, and Elizabeth in August. Now, two months later, we were going to meet her at her orphanage. This was another step in the adoption process. Later, Scott would accompany Elizabeth to Russia to legally adopt the baby and bring her home.

The nine-hour flight to Moscow gave us opportunity to meet other people traveling to Russia with the same objective as ours. Some couples were on their second trip, and eagerly showed photos of the child they were returning to Russia to adopt.

What an adventure an afternoon in Moscow offered me. Our hotel room overlooked Red Square and the Kremlin, sights familiar to me from magazines and newscasts. But visiting Moscow was not our objective and the next morning we left Moscow and flew four hours with Siberian Airways to arrive at our destination.

On arrival, we were met by a driver and an interpreter, arranged by the adoption agency. They drove us to the hotel. En route, they shared our itinerary for the following days.

The next morning, we were taken to the orphanage – a somber-looking, rundown, concrete building. The director greeted us and, in her office, shared information about the infant Russian, Irina, who would soon belong to us. After a routine delivery on May 5 th, the mother of the baby walked out of the hospital and never returned. There was no information about the father. “How could someone do that,” I wondered.

The director gave us birth statistics and growth progression and assured us that Irina was a healthy, normally developing infant. Then, they brought in this little bundle of smiles and hair and gave her to Elizabeth. I was moved by the immediate love I felt for her. This abandoned Irina became ‘Amanda Ruth Hohn,’ my granddaughter. As I held her in my arms, I prayed, “Oh God, thank you for this child!” We joked about her unruly mass of auburn hair. “She’s having a Bad Hair Day,” I suggested. The visit lasted about thirty minutes and we were whisked off.

When we returned that afternoon for a second visit, Amanda had been to the in-house beauty parlor. An aide had gathered her hair into an elastic band, Pebbles Flintstone fashion, and had taken scissors to the wisps of auburn hair that covered her forehead. It was as if they were fearful, due to our jesting, that we would not accept her because of her hair. How could they even imagine such a thing? Nothing could hinder us from loving and accepting her. Elizabeth and Scott, and the extended family, had made a commitment in August to love this child unconditionally and to accept her without reservation. They had chosen for her their grandmothers’ names, giving her a heritage. She was imbedded in our hearts forever.

Six weeks later, on a bitter cold Siberian morning, Amanda Ruth was placed in Elizabeth’s arms. The baby had no understanding of how important that day was. The adoption process complete, they headed for Moscow and then for home. Amanda Ruth Hohn became an American citizen when the plane landed at JFK Airport in New York. A future full of hope and opportunity awaits this child. Adoption is, indeed, a redemptive act.

God’s Word tells the believer that we, too, are adopted. In a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, Eugene Peterson says, “How blessed is God! Long, long ago, he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. What pleasure he took in planning this!” [Ephesians 1:3-5 – Eugene Peterson, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language ( Colorado Springs : Navpress, 2002) 2126] Through faith in Christ and acceptance of his salvation, we are made into children of God. He is committed to willingly receive all who come to Him through his Son. His Spirit gives confident assurance that we have been accepted fully into God’s family. Nothing in us can hinder that acceptance. It is based on God’s love and grace, which is eternal and unchanging. He loves us and will keep us as long as we walk with Him. That is His promise.

Just as it is exciting to anticipate Amanda’s future, full of opportunity and adventure, so too for the Child of God, the future offers hope and promise. Again, Peterson describes it as “. . . an adventurously expectant, greeting God with a child-like ‘What’s next Papa?’ . . .” [Ibid. Romans 8:15. 2024]

An all-powerful, all-knowing God calls me His child; accepts me as His very own. He knows my future and plans for me in love. He offers the assurance of His presence to guide me, and grace sufficient for whatever the future brings.

I thank God each day for the adoption of Amanda.  I praise Him that He has adopted me.

This is Amanda.

Gloria is retired with her husband and they live in New Jersey. They are enjoying grandchildren as you can see.