Please Come Home (+ Growing Family!)

Our Family Is Growing! I am thrilled to share that my husband and I will soon welcome a sweet little baby boy into our family. We began the process of adopting internationally from Korea about two years ago, but the desire for him has been with us years before that. We are over the moon excited to finally meet our little one this Fall, and can't believe we get to be his parents! My motherhood journey has already been incredibly beautiful, even though it has hardly begun. My hands have prepared and prayed for the little one through countless hours of quilting, doll making, sewing, journaling, felting, weaving, home making, gathering and collecting (not to mention the piles of paperwork that my husband and I filled out in order to bring our baby home safely!). I believe that through all the preparation God has already been felting our family together in His mysterious ways that surpass my human understanding.

There has never been a season in my life when my physical body has better taught me how to pray than this one. I have experienced God's tender nearness deep within me in new and profound ways. With the company of many art mediums, nature, and kind spiritual companions, I have learned to listen to the ways my body holds the ache and longing to be united with our sweet baby. Among numerous prayers, Scripture verses and images, a poem by Jane Hooper titled"Please Come Home" has touched me most deeply as I have prayed it over our baby. By sharing the poem with you, my hope is that it will bring to you, too, joy and a sense of deeper belonging to your own self, God and this world.

"Please Come Home" a Poem by Jane Hooper

Please come home.

Please come home.

Find the place where your feet know where to walk

And follow your own trail home.

Please come home.

Please come home into your own body,

Your own vessel, your own earth.

Please come home into each and every cell,

And fully into the space that surrounds you.

Please come home.

Please come home to trusting yourself,

And your instincts and your ways and your knowings,

And even the particular quirks of your personality.

Please come home.

Please come home and once you are firmly there,

Please stay home awhile and come to a deep rest within.

Please treasure your home. Please love and embrace your home.

Please get a deep, deep sense of what it’s like to be truly home.

Please come home. Please come home.

And when you’re really, really ready,

And there’s a detectable urge on the outbreath, then please come out.

Please come home and please come forward.

Please express who you are to us, and please trust us

To see you and hear you and touch you

And recognize you as best we can.

Please come home. Please come home and let us know

All the nooks and crannies that are calling to be seen.

Please come home, and let us know the More

That is there that wants to come out.

Please come home. Please come home

For you belong here now. You belong among us.

Please inhabit your place fully so we can learn from you,

From your voice and your ways and your presence.

Please come home. Please come home.

And when you feel yourself home, please welcome us too,

For we too forget that we belong and are welcome,

And that we are called to express fully who we are.

Please come home. Please come home.

You and you and you and me.

Please come home. Please come home.

Thank you, Earth, for welcoming us.

And thank you touch of eyes and ears and skin,

Touch of love for welcoming us.

May we wake up and remember who we truly are.

Please come home.

Please come home.

Please come home.

Last accessed on September 12, 201 through https://amandabray.com/colorado-blog/please-come-home-a-poem-by-jane-hooper

An Invitation to Embodied Listening

I invite you to read the poem again. This time, breathe deeply and notice what words touch you within your body. Listen to the felt-senses of your body and the words, images and feelings that the poem evokes in you. How is God drawing you to an encounter through the text? Perhaps you would like to journal, draw or create something to further explore your experience with the poem in your body.

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Picture Books about Adoption & Welcoming A New Child

Finally, here are some of my favorite picture books about adoption and about welcoming a new child into a family. They each are full of love-filled images, words and rhymes for all ages to enjoy together.

1. How I was Adopted: Samantha's Story by Joanne Cole and Maxie Chambliss

One of the rare books written directly to an adopted child from an adoptee's perspective. This softly illustrated book tells realistically and at a young child's level how children join adoptive families. The main character of the book was adopted as a baby through domestic adoption.

2. I love you like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis and Jane Dyer

A heartwarming story of an adoptive mother who travels to China to meet her adoptive baby girl. Gorgeous illustrations and text. The story highlights the feelings of joy and grief of an adoptive mother. "I held you tightly, kissed you softly, and cried. The tears were for your Chinese mother, who could not keep you. I wanted her to know that we would always remember her. And I hoped somehow she knew you were safe and happy in the world."

3. Babies Come from Airports by Erin Dealey and Luciana Navarro Powell

This is a light hearted, child centered story about a multi-ethnic family of four who are waiting for their mother to return home from China with their 5th family member, an adopted baby girl. The story is written from the perspective of a waiting sibling, who has been adopted himself.

4. Motherbridge of Love by Josee Masse

This is a really beautiful story about the two mothers, the birth mother and the adoptive mother who are both touched by adoption. The story and images show how they both continue being significant people throughout the whole life of an adoptive child.

5. A Crazy-much Love by Joy Jordan-Lake and Sonia Sanchez

Bright illustrations accompany a story of a little internationally adopted baby girl's homecoming to her adoptive family and the first several years of her life. The story is focused on the strong affections and love that the adoptive parents have for their daughter."We loved you before we saw you, or hugged you, or held you. You were the one we hoped for, and prayed for, and piled up stuffed bears for. It was you."

6. We See the Moon by Carrie A. Kitze

An adoptive child's poetic reflections about her/his birth mother. Questions such as "Why did you leave me?" and "Do you think of me?" find space on the pages of this artistic, and beautiful book.

7. The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin (Hardcover)

8. When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner and David Catrow (Hardcover and board books available)

9. God Loves You! by Marie Turner (Board book)

10. Wonder That is You by Glenys Nellist and Aurelie Blanz (Hardcover and board books available)

11. When I Pray For You by Matthew Paul Turner and Kimberley Barnes (Hardcover and boards book available)

12. Precious Baby by Della Ross Ferreri and Monique Dong (Board book)

View my curated picture book collection about God, belonging and prayer here.

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