Devotion: Things New

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See the home of God is among mortals.  God will dwell with them; they will be God’s peoples, and God will be with them; God will wipe every tear from their eyes.  Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.  And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” --Revelation 21:3-5

To be honest, the Book of Revelation is not the book of the Bible I usually turn to for devotions.  But, writing this on the day following President Obama’s Inauguration, these words resonate with me.  And two personal family stories have also made me believe that, here and now—not in some distant, hard to understand future—God is making things new.

Gwyneth Anne Jarrett entered this world on December 10, 2008, surrounded in love by her birth parents and her adoptive parents--my daughter, Elizabeth, and her partner, Emily.  Too young to care for a baby as they would wish, her birth parents had chosen Emily and Elizabeth from the adoption agency’s internet posting last summer.  The two couples bonded almost immediately and have agreed that this will be an “open” adoption—wanting Gwyn to know, from the start, how many people love her.  

While some states have recently passed laws prohibiting adoption by same-sex couples, they’ve found nothing but total acceptance in Minneapolis.  The agency, the midwife, the doula, the hospital staff where the baby was born all treated them with respect and gentle care.  Elizabeth and Emily, present at the birth, were even given a hospital room for two days so they could be with the baby until it was time to take her home.  Once home, meals and baby gifts came pouring in from friends, neighbors and members of their church family.  The birth parents have visited regularly—and three sets of grandparents have doted on this baby.

The second story begins 40 years ago when my sister gave birth to a baby she could not keep.  This was a different time.  She was alone in giving birth—she never saw the baby who was immediately put in foster care for five months while the adoption process took place.  This was a deep, dark family secret—never talked about, emotions never shared--until a few weeks ago when she received an e-mail message from a man who had been searching for seven years for his birth mother.  The details he had were accurate—this was her son.  Overwhelmed and scared, she said it was the story of Gwyn’s birth that helped her be able to respond “You have found your birth mom.”  She has been in daily communication with him since then, as well as with his wife and their two boys--and has a date set to meet him face to face, hug to hug soon.  Our family—joyfully--grows exponentially!

God is making things new—and they seem to always be motivated by love.

Helen Andrew, Parents Steering Committee member, RMN board member, and member of Memorial UMC, White Plains, NY, a Reconciling Congregation. http://www.memorialmethodist.org/