I just finished reading this amazing book entitled, From Ashes to Africa. It was written by Josh and Amy Bottomly who adopted a baby boy from Ethiopia in 2007. It is incredibly reflective and it is written by both of them with short yet powerful chapters. There are far too many books that aim to be “feel good” books and thankfully this is not one of them. It is written with raw emotion and a longing for God to reconcile all things to himself one day.
They, like us, struggled with infertility and realized that adoption was not plan B, but plan A according to God. In our journey to Emma, our daughter that we adopted from China, we knew that we were going to be the ones blessed by her as much as she was blessed by us and in this book, the last line of the book (penned by Amy) was an echo of what I felt in May of 2008 when I first held Emma in my arms.
“…I quietly realize this truth: maybe all along, I needed Silas more than Silas needed me.” page 180, From Ashes to Africa
Even if you have not adopted, I recommend this book because it is a powerful story of life, marriage, struggles and how God meets us at the intersections of joy and pain.
It may be another year before we go to Rwanda to get Jack, but reading books like these are like fresh water on a hot day that will see us through until we are united with our son.
Matt
