A New Identity for Christmas

Last week, Emily and I took a huge step in an adoption journey that we’ve been on for a long time. We welcomed two beautiful little girls into our home on the week of Christmas. They’ve been an incredible gift to us from the Lord. Even as I write this, I’m surrounded by the pitter patter of four little feet playing tag around the house.

For over thirteen years, we’ve had the identity of husband and wife, focused on our relationships with the Lord and each other. It’s been incredibly fulfilling and full of joy, but we’ve always desired to be something more.

Last week, we got a new identity - Mommy and Daddy.

It all happened so quickly, quicker than we expected. Emily has still called me Joel on occasion, but is quickly reminded by our oldest that it’s not my name. My name is Daddy. We laugh about it every time, knowing that we will always be Emily and Joel to each other. But still, we can’t deny that everything in our life has changed. All the cool breakables in the house are put away. There’s a lot of furniture sitting in the garage that isn’t kid friendly that will be going on Craigslist this week. There are constantly toys everywhere in the house that we are constantly picking up. We are soaking in our quiet moments together, because they are few and far between.

But there is so much joy in this house. There is so much joy in being Mommy and Daddy. Sure, there are moments of whining and waking up in the middle of the night, but they are overshadowed by the moments of hearing them giggle and being told ‘I love you daddy’ by our youngest after I changed her diaper.

There is also sacrifice, probably more than we expected. I don’t think we really expected for this to change everything about our lives. But we sacrifice the life we’ve lived and known for the sake of being Mommy and Daddy to these two girls. And it’s worth it. It’s worth it because they bring us such joy. It’s worth it because they deserve a Mommy and Daddy who love them and consistently care for them. It’s worth it because of love.

But for us, this Christmas, it’s worth it for another reason. It’s just a glimpse of the love and sacrifice that was involved when Jesus took on a new identity for us. He humbled Himself and left the Father’s side to become the Word Made Flesh. Jesus gained the identity of being fully human, while still being fully God. It was a great sacrifice, one that eventually cost His life. Christmas is all about that. Jesus being born into a new identity for the Father’s glory and our salvation.

We still have a long way to go in figuring this parenting thing out, but I’m grateful this Christmas that God has used it to remind us of the sacrifice of Christ for us, and the love He displayed in taking human form. So from us this year, Merry Christmas, and may we all remember the depths of the love of Jesus.