Christmas is coming...

Here is a small little detail about adopting that no one discloses to you...
-Holidays without your kids are hard.
Okay, I don't know who would be in charge of disclosing this. Or if they could really prepare you. Or if you'd listen in the excitement of getting paperwork together.
Last year was hard. However, they were just an idea. They were pictures. They were 2D.
This year. We know what they feel like in our arms. We know their laugh. We know how much they'd love the Christmas lights, staying up till midnight on Christmas Eve, the turkey and rolls, sitting on Grandpa's lap, and being here surrounded by family that loves and adores them. We want to share this with them. We want to see their face on Christmas morning. We want a complete family for Christmas. We want to be together. And while our Christmas morning will be like years before, it will be hollow without Re and Er. Hollow is the best word I have to describe it.
And while we will enjoy moments with Ce and P, and we will experience joy and peace, it will all be twinged with the sadness that we are separated from the ones we love. And yet, we know that Christmas is a time of sadness, hurt and pain for many other people. A time to remember those who are gone from their lives. A time to remember that which is painful. A time to endure. We know that God desires more for us. He desires a life of joy, even in times of sadness. He says he is present at all times. And that he came to earth, not just for a salvation moment, but a lifetime relationship. A God who knows our pain, who has endured that pain, and who promises to redeem our pain, and desires to have us rest in his promises. And that is the joy that can overshadow any sorrow we have.