Christmas Dreams
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series II Cycle A
Jeff and Cheryl had a dream. Actually they had the same dream. They dreamed of traveling to a distant land to get a child.
Cheryl looked at Jeff with utter disbelief as they ate breakfast. "I had the exact same dream," she told her husband. Jeff wondered what all this meant. They had talked about adopting a child from another country but never followed through. Now that they both had the same dream, they were convinced that this was what God wanted them to do. They wanted more than anything to make a difference in some young child's life. They had the means to improve one child's life and that was what they wanted. This was what God wanted them to do; the dream confirmed it.
They began gathering information about adopting a child from another country. There were children living in terrible conditions that they wanted to help. After several months a six-year-old girl was found half-way across the world in the former Soviet Union. "That's our girl!" Jeff announced to Cheryl. They began learning how to speak Russian.
Their travel plans included a flight to Moscow, where they would be picked up at the airport by another couple. All the arrangements were in order. If they had any doubts, it was about the health condition of the little girl they were about to travel half-way around the world to pick up. It was explained to Cheryl and Jeff that often the health of a child was exaggerated so the government officials would allow the child to leave the country. It would be harder to adopt a child if the child were in perfect health, they were told.
It was just like their dream as they boarded the plane. After an exhausting flight they arrived. They were met and taken to an apartment. Their only trouble so far was with communication, since they knew very little Russian and their host knew even less English.
The next day they met the young girl they would adopt as their daughter.
She smiled at them. She had spent some time living in an orphanage but seemed eager to be a part of a family. They were told that her father had been killed and her mother was seriously ill in a hospital.
The following afternoon they boarded another plane bound for the United States. Their new daughter seemed pleasant and bright, yet on that long flight they had trouble communicating with her. Jeff said, "I had to tell her a hundred times in Russian, 'Don't do that' as she continued to kick the seat in front of her."
Jeff and Cheryl took the young girl to their home and welcomed her as part of their family. She responded with love and affection. What this girl needed most was love, and Jeff and Cheryl could provide her with that.
Cheryl looked at Jeff with utter disbelief as they ate breakfast. "I had the exact same dream," she told her husband. Jeff wondered what all this meant. They had talked about adopting a child from another country but never followed through. Now that they both had the same dream, they were convinced that this was what God wanted them to do. They wanted more than anything to make a difference in some young child's life. They had the means to improve one child's life and that was what they wanted. This was what God wanted them to do; the dream confirmed it.
They began gathering information about adopting a child from another country. There were children living in terrible conditions that they wanted to help. After several months a six-year-old girl was found half-way across the world in the former Soviet Union. "That's our girl!" Jeff announced to Cheryl. They began learning how to speak Russian.
Their travel plans included a flight to Moscow, where they would be picked up at the airport by another couple. All the arrangements were in order. If they had any doubts, it was about the health condition of the little girl they were about to travel half-way around the world to pick up. It was explained to Cheryl and Jeff that often the health of a child was exaggerated so the government officials would allow the child to leave the country. It would be harder to adopt a child if the child were in perfect health, they were told.
It was just like their dream as they boarded the plane. After an exhausting flight they arrived. They were met and taken to an apartment. Their only trouble so far was with communication, since they knew very little Russian and their host knew even less English.
The next day they met the young girl they would adopt as their daughter.
She smiled at them. She had spent some time living in an orphanage but seemed eager to be a part of a family. They were told that her father had been killed and her mother was seriously ill in a hospital.
The following afternoon they boarded another plane bound for the United States. Their new daughter seemed pleasant and bright, yet on that long flight they had trouble communicating with her. Jeff said, "I had to tell her a hundred times in Russian, 'Don't do that' as she continued to kick the seat in front of her."
Jeff and Cheryl took the young girl to their home and welcomed her as part of their family. She responded with love and affection. What this girl needed most was love, and Jeff and Cheryl could provide her with that.
