The Water is Wide

"The water is wide--I cannot cross o'er.

And neither have I wings to fly.

Give me a boat that can carry two.

And both shall row, my child and I."

I'm writing today with a heavy heart. Not for myself, but for several friends who seem to be going through delay after delay in being united with their children.

I am an early childhood music teacher and listened to our next unit's music for the first time today. Included in the music is the lullaby above. Oh how I cried for all of the parents who only want to "cross o'er" the wide water, but cannot. Oh how I feel their pain, having been there before. I remember writing to Taevy in a journal before she was with it and signing it "From my side of the ocean, Mommy." In today's world it seems like a small feet to cross an ocean--wide water--but for those adopting internationally it is still a feet that requires the grace of God!

Taevy fell out of a tree yesterday and cut the back of her head open. In order to secure her for the staples the doctors basically tied her into a sheet, lay her on her stomach, and pushed her head down to the table. My mommy heart was torn in two as I heard my child screaming at the top of her lungs, "MOMMY! I CAN'T FIND YOU MOMMY! I CAN'T REACH YOU MOMMY!!!!!"

How many children in this world would scream, "I can't reach you Mommy" if they knew that a mommy (and daddy) were waiting on them--fighting for them--from across the wide water. Pray for these families. Our family has been spared pain in the adoption process so far, but very few of us who adopt internationally (especially from developing countries) escape the adoption process without heartbreak along the way.

P.S. To hear the melod of "The Water is Wide" go to the links below:

http://www.ireland-information.com/irishmusic/thewateriswide.shtml

http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/wateriswide.html