Dear Finley,

Dear Finley Grace,

What a beautiful love story that is being played out in our lives! When you were born, you were given the name Ji-Eun, meaning, “wise grace”. When we first saw you, we knew you were to be called Finley, meaning “fair warrior”.   

So many here have fought for you on your behalf. So many have prayed for you before they even knew your smile. Gibson and Elliott prayed daily for you to be able to join our family, others cared for our family through hugs, thoughts, encouraging words or martinis.

We couldn’t be more thankful for all those that cared for you, before we even met you.

In the hospital, your birth mother hoped you would be filled with wisdom and grace. Your foster mom cared for you, loved you and took more photographs of you than we have of the “Party of Four” combined. 

Most importantly, we learned that as you were chosen at birth for us, so we have been chosen for you.

There have been surprises along the way for all of us. However, hope has always been present. We celebrated with a community three years ago at this very park the on day you were born. We celebrated what we saw before us, good friendships, fellowship, food and baseball. We played and laughed, while you were just coming into the world.  Today, we celebrate again.

There will be many times in your life that you will have questions that we will not know how to answer. There may be many why{s} that we simply will not know what to say. However, what we promise as your parents is to be there for you. We promise to provide a space that can hold tension and sorrow or joy and peace. We promise to you to raise you knowing that there will be difficult discussions, but they can be held in honesty and trust and we will not withhold information from you about your past. We promise to tell you YOUR story that you may know that you were always chosen, longed for and loved.

You can be certain that the enemy will pursue you. We promise to equip you for battle in truth, love and grace. Moreover, we promise to walk with you, be with you, and live with you through all the days we have together.

You were named as a fair warrior on a conviction of our hearts. You, Finley Grace, are our warrior, God’s warrior.  You are a princess of the King.  May you always know your beauty, your strength and that your story is a gift to the world.

Luv,

Mom and Dad