I worry over how much time I spend writing and reading in the blogosphere. This morning in the mailbox came a thank-you letter that brought me to tears of joy and made me realize the time I spend is not wasted. Jamie and Kim Arpin-Ricci thanked me for standing beside them during their adoption journey and shared pictures of their new family.
I never have met any of these people face to face. I have never even spoken with them on the phone. And yet, because of this new and crazy place called the blogosphere, I have been able to pray for them.
The couple, urban missionaries in Winnipeg, Canada, have been married for 10 years. They went through the heartbreak of miscarriage and decided to adopt their first child. They chose to adopt from Ethiopia in part because their neighborhood includes a large Ethiopian community. A Mennonite pastor, Jamie is also a third order Franciscan with The Company of Jesus. He made full professional in October 2009.
Their story of family building resonated with ours: due to a pituitary condition, it looked most unlikely I would be ever be able to bear children. Had I been born a generation earlier, I would not have given birth. My husband and I considered adopting a child from Vietnam at one point, but the costs proved overwhelming. Our two biological sons are prayers answered. God is good.
The story of my meeting Jamie and Kim begins a few ago, when a dear friend died. This woman helped mother me into adulthood and I felt her absence deep in my bones. One of my sisters suggested I start reading Catholic blogs to find kindred spirits. From there I found the YIM Catholic blog and from there, new friends, including Fran. She too, blogs, and told me Jamie and Kim's story.
The Arpin-Riccis set up a web page, asking for folks to sponsor them on their journey. I donated a tiny amount, possibly the smallest amount of the $20,000 they received. But in my very modest giving, and particularly in my praying, I am privileged to feel in some infinitesimally small way, I helped grow a family.
And that is most certainly not a waste of my time.
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