The Dream

Today our little Bruik--affectionately known as, "Bruiky" or "Bruiky-mon" by our Daddy is a little under the weather. I get the snuggly privilege of holding him and bringing all the right sorts of treats that make little boys feel better--you know--fizzy drinks, snuggles in our favorite chair, treasured books, and just the right Tom and Jerry movie--I may not know the title but Bruik loves it by heart! His laugh is infectious even on a "sick day". I love resting my cheek on his soft curly head and pondering the wonderfulness of this beautiful boy.
I have blogged in the past about how the name we chose off of Ethiopian Name lists, Bruik, means, "Gift of God". Months later, when we received our referral for our little boy, we only received a couple photos which we carried in our pocket, put on the dashboard of our car, and showed to whoever we came in contact with--you know this well, adoptive families!! No videos or updates--just the bare bones-- but it was mystical and wonderful...and perfect for us. You see, the only other piece of information we received about Bruik was a faded copy of a form that was in Amharic and English translation. It had just a couple of informing details on it --no birth date-- but our little boy was healthy, details of how very tiny he was for his age, information that he was a true orphan-both parents deceased but that they had given consent before their deaths for him to be brought in to care--and something that immediately confirmed that this was our son--in the name space--out of all the names that could have been in that space--his given name was, BRUIK. His mama and papa in Ethiopia and his mommy and daddy in America ALL had chosen this special name for him. "Gift of God".
We have treasured our gift from God. How we are made for one another. What would we have been without his gentle ways? The way his pure heart just "gets" the Lord? The other day I cleaned his room. When he came back home and went up to his room he exclaimed, "Mommy, thank you!! You cleaned up my room with God's strength!"... Watching him play with his brothers and watch over his baby sister makes my heart both ache and beat at once. Often, when it is time for bed, after he is tickled by Daddy (a must!!) and we have prayed over him and spent time pondering how amazing the Lord is before he slips off to sleep, Richard will then bend over his ear, so perfectly nestled in all those soft curls, and whisper, "Bruik do you know who you are?" Bruik smiles and sleepily answers, "I am God's gift to you. or, "I am a gift." "Yes, you are God's gift to me" Daddy hugs back.
The other morning Bruik came downstairs very animated. "Mommy!!!DaaaDy (in his Ethiopian Accent)I had a dream!! After telling us his dream, he then told his brothers and sisters and shared about it for days--it must have been very real to him and very special--and we saw the fingerprints of God--and again got holy chill bumps as we listened to it. :)
"I had a dream. In it we were all in the living room. The whole family was there. Mommy and Daddy were there. In the middle of the floor was a big present. Daddy opened the present. He looked inside... And IT WAS ME!!!! I was the present!!!"
May God Bless you today as you love on your PRESENTS--or maybe long for a present from afar--blessings to you today. As for me, I'm off for another Bruiky snuggle!!

So Grateful,
Gillian