Leap to Your Son

On our way to the airport in the dark on Friday morning, I found a letter my friend had written to us that I just had to share.
Dear Laurel and Peter,

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." –Confucius

A single step over the threshold of your home to the car that will take you to the plane, to the other plane, to the other plane, to Rwanda, to Myles. Each step bringing you closer to the place always ‘known’ for you, and him.

A thousand memories await you. And then a thousand more. Your new son will delight you with every smile, every movement forward, every successful location of the picture ‘ball’ on a story book page. He’ll eliminate your good night’s sleep… to make it more precious by holding him in the dark. He’ll toss food on your freshly washed floor…he’ll learn to sing his ABC’s by listening to your voice… he’ll dance to the music that you play in the kitchen… he’ll adore his big brother Keith… he’ll laugh with his big sister Lili. He’ll want to be just like daddy one day. And he’ll know his mommy’s voice; it will calm him, sing to him, instruct him, wrap around him like a ‘cozy blanket for his soul.’

And he’ll be HOME. Then when he is grown, and thinks about his childhood – he’ll think of his sunshiny room, his backyard where he played with his brother and sister, his mommy’s smile, his daddy’s shoulders on which he sat upon and surveyed the world.

He’ll also be dearly, devotedly loved by a legion of friends and family. He has become all of ‘our Myles’, a picture of how love can grow and sustain, reaching across the continents and obstacles to bring a little boy home.

Sure, a thousand miles is a long way to go. But what would Confucius have said about a journey of over 8,000 miles, and back again? Maybe he wouldn’t have said it begins with a step… maybe something more like a leap.

So then…. Leap to your child. Leap over the oceans, and the hurdles, and the waiting. Leap to that child that has always been yours… and let there be no more miles between you.

Safe travels to you… can’t wait to meet the new addition to the Greer family, whom you’ve received as a little child in HIS name.

With love and prayers – Heather, John, Aidan and Jack Honeywater