Tick Tock

It's snowing again in Denver, and I'm safe and warm in the house. I'm cooking, to pass the time, as the snow falls, deeper and deeper outside. The day is so quiet and peaceful. It seems that time both crawls along, and flies at an unbelievable speed, depending upon what I'm doing . . . While I was doing my taxes, and was under a deadline to organize receipts, mileage and a million other figures, time was racing by. When I needed to study for a class, get to work each day, visit a friend in the hospital, get to church, have lunch with friends and get laundry finished, the minutes were speeding by and I was wishing there were 6 more hours in each day. While I'm awaiting the arrival of my two new grandchildren from Ethiopia, however, the days are creeping along at an unbelievably slow pace . . . There has been a year and a half of hopeful anticipation, expectation and preparation, and now the day is at hand! Soon we will have our two beautiful little people with us. I'm counting the days, as the kids prepare to depart and fly around the world to stand before a judge, who will decree that these precious children are theirs. Then, the journey home, with children who do not speak our language or recognize most of the things we take for granted. They will enter a new world, where everything is a challenge, from language to customs to food. What will they be thinking and feeling, as people they do not know board them on an airplane, and bring them to what might seem like a strange planet? I trust that prayer and love will overcome all obstacles, eventually. These little people will not be sure of us at first. They will, no doubt miss the familiar surroundings, the climate and diet and language of their lives. They will miss people who look like them, and the normalcy of the routine in the orphanage that has been their home. We will welcome them to a wonderful home, new clothing and toys, soft beds, delicious food and clean water. We will hug them and sing to them and laugh and play with them. We will teach them a new language and present them with opportunities. They will be safe and warm and cared for. They will no longer be in the same danger of disease or famine, or loneliness. We will show them our tender love and acceptance, and hope that they will do the same for us. In the meantime, the hours are creeping along, as I wait not so patiently for the next two weeks. Then, they will be "home" and safe and secure.

Tick Tock . . . Tick Tock . . . Tick Tock . . .