Orphan Sunday 'What If...We Never Met Ezekyal'

A couple of days ago, I asked the question "What if ATN did not exist?" Today I want to ask a question that can only be asked because All Things New does exist..."What if we never met Ezekyal?"

Before I continue, I want to stop and ask everyone to consider joining us in making this year's "Giving Thursday" the best we have ever had. The financial difficulties in Haiti and our inability to get down there with teams have made our financial position more precarious than it has been in a while and we need your help! I will give more options as it grows closer but I wanted to put it out there now...Back to the blog...

One of the purposes of this series of blogs is to make us think about the incredible things that happen when we say "yes" to GOD no matter what. I mentioned in our last blog that I almost gave a resounding "no" to the idea of moving to Haiti. If I had, and refused to even pray about moving there, we would have never met Ezekyal.

One of the more common things we hear when strangers or acquaintances see our family is how lucky our children are. To an extent that is true. Here are some things that have happened in Zeke's life that may not have gone well had he been in Haiti:

 - Ezekyal's PCP used an iPhone app to catch an astigmatism that required him to wear glasses starting a couple of years ago. Had it not been caught early, it could have affected his vision for the rest of his life.

 - Ezekyal had hernia surgery to repair multiple hernias that could have been much worse if not treated quickly, and in Haiti there is a good chance it would have not been treated quickly.

Of course there are many more things in all 3 of our kids' lives that would have been different had they never become our children. But that is not even close to the whole story.

If we had never moved to Haiti and met Ezekyal, our family would not be right. His humor and intelligence would be a gaping hole in the Bush family. His passion and love of life would be things that we would not even know we desperately needed.

If Sophie did not have Ezekyal, she would not know what it means to protect someone who needs her. She would have missed reading to him and hugging him when he gets hurt. 

If Elijah did not have Ezekyal, I do not know where he would be. They are so close to each other and play together so much it is unbelievable. When you ask them who they played with on the playground at school, the answer is always "each other." They wrestle constantly and fight often, but they love each other fiercely.

If Jess and I did not have Ezekyal, we would be missing a part of who we are. We would not be the parents and people that we are. Ezekyal is ours and we are his and GOD knew that. I sometimes wonder "What If" we had said no to Haiti.

I do not want it sound like I am bragging about saying "yes," because hopefully you read the previous blog where I really wanted to say no. 

My point is I want everyone who reads this blog to ask yourself, "What am I saying 'no' to GOD about right now that could change everything about my life?"

Sometimes, it is not even saying "no," it can also be just not listening and just living life like we have always lived. We may not be saying "no" to GOD because we are not really saying anything to Him. My challenge to all of us, including myself, is to pray, listen, and be ready to say "yes" no matter what the question is...