On a cold day in December my adoption became official. My birth certificate stated I was the daughter of my adoptive parents, as if my illegitimate birth and nine months in foster care had never taken place. I had a new name on the document given to me by my new parents as if it was their blood that now flowed through my tiny veins.
Years later, I met my husband while working as a sassy bus girl in a college bar. He was the hunk, I was the babe, and eventually we got married. It was great until it wasn’t.
I said, “I’m leaving.”
He said, “Please don’t go.”
That marriage crisis opened my eyes to the horrible hurt I was capable of causing even to those I loved best. In a nutshell, I realized I was a sinner.
On a cold December night, long ago, a Jewish baby was born in a stable. An angel told his parents to give him the name, Jesus, officially revealing the holy blood that flowed through his tiny veins was capable of saving people like me from their sins.
The Easter after my marriage fiasco, I was baptized, officially taking the name Christian.
In a satisfying story, the end always kisses the beginning.
Christmas kisses Easter. Birth kisses rebirth. A child in trouble. A heavenly adoption. A new name, as if the blood of the holy parents flows through the child’s veins. As if the old had never happened.
That’s my testimony in an eggshell.
P.S. Thanks to my dear parents, long-gone, who modeled the adoption of a good God. Thanks to my faithful husband who modeled the grace of the savior who loves us from the first and never lets go, even when we are at our worst.
Happy Easter!
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
Copyright Ann C. Averill 2023
Cover photo by Frank Alarcon on Unsplash
Broken egg photo by Dennis Anderson on Unsplash
Nice. Happy Easter to you.
I loved this and I love you, my friend. Happy Easter!
Thank you, once again for sharing about Jesus as only you can.❤️