The Rose

Some say love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed.

Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed.

Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need.

I say Love, it is a flower, and You, its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking, that in You, learns to dance.

It's the dream afraid of waking, that in You, takes the chance.

It's the One who won't be taking, who only seems to give.

And the soul afraid of dying, that in You, learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely, and the road has been too long.

And you think that Love is only for the lucky and the strong.

Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows,

Lies the seed, that with the Son's Love, in the spring becomes the Rose.

-Modified from the original lyrics to Bette Midler's "The Rose"

“Mié (Rose) Jia Ning”

We are so very happy to introduce the newest member of our family, Rose Jia Ning Hadsell.  We are in the process of adopting Rose from China, and hope to have her home in August or September of this year!  Rose has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, which simply means that God crafted her with one extra chromosome.  That extra chromosome carries with it various challenges, but it also carries an extra measure of truth, love, honesty, trust, and JOY!  We are so thankful that God chose us to be her family.

Her Chinese name carries profound truth about our little girl.  Méi translates into Rose, the flower most often associated with great beauty; Jia translates into Family; and Ning translates into Peace.  Ever since with first laid eyes on our little Rose, and began praying about whether or not it was God’s will for us to pursue her adoption, our family has been graced with the most inexplicable, beautiful, peace.  International adoption is not for the faint of heart, but through all the trials and hurdles to cross, this peace has not left our family.  It is with great honor, and humble hearts, that we hope to bring the same beautiful peace to Rose, as we pour out God’s love—that He first poured out for each of us—onto our newest little blessing.  Our prayer is that in Him, she will learn to dance, take chances, and truly learn to live; that after all her lonely nights, after the long road to her forever family; after being passed by for the more "lucky and strong"; that far beneath the bitter cold of institutionalization, lies the seed of God's Love that will become our Rose.  

We would love for you all to follow our adoption journey as we complete the final steps of this process.  Rose also has a sponsorship page on the Reece’s Rainbow International Down Syndrome Adoption Grant and Advocacy website—https://reecesrainbow.org/125177/sponsorhadsell.  (You can also reach her sponsorship page by clicking on the picture of her on the top right-hand side of this blog.)

In lieu of the customary baby shower gift registry, we are prayerfully fundraising through her Reece’s Rainbow sponsorship page to cover the final “ransom” fees for her adoption.  Please consider donating to her grant fund, and/or passing along this information to anyone you feel might like to come along side us on this journey.  Most of all, we humbly ask for your prayers as we fight to bring Rose home!

                                                                   

                                  With much love and gratitude,

                                        The Hadsell Family
(David, Ashley, Jadon, Addison, Alex, Noah, Luke, and Rose)