Monday Meditation & Devotion by Jody
"To comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61: 2b-3 ( NIV )
As adoptees there is a point in our lives when we awaken and begin to process what it means to have been adopted. We come to realize that though we were blessed to become a part of a new family we experienced being uprooted from our biological family tree of
origin. There was a severing when our birth parents relinquished their rights
to parent us. We were the branch cut off, separated from the parent tree. Ouch!
That hurts! And surely a wound was created. Then through adoption we were
grafted into a new family tree where we were replanted and allowed to grow.
Horticulturalists say that a good grafting involves a successful
union at the juncture of where the grafted branch is joined to the new parent
tree. The parent tree must be bound and securely attached to the young shoot
which will draw nutrients from the foreign root system. The goal in grafting is
to take two living plants and join them so that the whole grows as one yet each
part retains its own identity.
Some of us were fortunate to be grafted into a nurturing and
loving adoptive family. Others were replanted into families that may have been unprepared or unequipped emotionally to tend to our deepest needs. But regardless of whether we
were raised in a nurturing family or not, many of us need encouragement and permission to tend to our original relinquishment wound and the loss it
represented. It was always there, though buried deep within and often invisible
to others, and sadly, even to some of us. This hidden wound needed to be
recognized and validated. A safe place and safe people were needed to assist us
in the process of grieving our early losses in order that healing could begin.
For some of us that never happened.
But praise be to God our heavenly Father who truly understands the
needs of His adopted children. He who has been with us from the beginning, from
the womb and every step along the way. He embraces us as we grieve our original
relinquishment and He reparents us and helps us heal from the
emotional wounds that harbor our growth and ability to be fruitful. We draw
"new life" and nourishment from being rooted and grounded in Him.
May we allow our God, the Master Gardener to touch us and shape us
with his gardening tools so that we may become the beautiful tree He created us
to be. Our original grafting scar will barely be visible in the shade of our
strong healthy branches. Then we"will be called oaks of righteousness, a
planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." Isaiah 61:3 NIV
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for loving me and allowing adoption to touch my life. I praise you for giving me the gift of life through my birth parents and providing a family through my adoptive parents. Though relinquishment may have left its mark of pain and loss on my heart, I know you long for
my wholeness. Touch my life with your gardening tools that I might experience your healing grace and become stronger and fruitful for you. Through your grafting I pray that my branches might reach out in praise and give glory and honor
to your holy name, Amen.
Copyright, Jody Moreen 2014. Permission is needed to reprint or repost this devotion in any printed media in
print or online.
Contact Jody at: jodymoreen( the @ sign ) gmail.com
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