Rich in Love: When God Rescues Messy People by Irene Garcia, Lissa Halls Johnson
Authors: Irene Garcia, Lissa Halls Johnson
Tags: Adoption
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love. To persevere.
I hung up, taking Domingo’s words to heart, and decided to wait on God. Even so, it was no easy task. I had to frequently remind myself that Joseph was the boy who had run away because he had gotten into trouble at school. He was the crazy kid who had slept in a trash can. That Alfred was the little boy abandoned by his mother, separated from his siblings, and scalded as a form of punishment.
The boys adjusted to our home and schedule quickly. I give a lot of credit to our sons Vincent and Anthony for that. They loved their little brothers and showed them the ropes, encouraging them and guiding them to the right thing when they did something wrong.
Alfred had a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He was like a Mexican jumping bean. Always moving, jumping, and running—most of the time away from me. He would steal, then look at me with bright eyes and say, “Never saw it, never touched it.” Then later we’d find the object in his pocket. He was like one of the Little Rascals—filled with so much mischief. When thinking about him, I could only use the word híjole to describe him. It’s a Spanish word loosely translated, “Is this for real? Holy guacamole!”
Alfred and Esther were the same age and got along really well. They got into a lot of mischief together, and as most siblings do, they’d get into scuffles as well. As tiny as Esther was, she stood her ground. Soon Alfred knew how far he could push her, and he’d go right to the edge of that line.
It was great to see Esther’s social skills progressing now that she had a sibling her age. Even if fighting was a part of that progress.
Alfred followed Joseph everywhere and did whatever Joseph asked him to do. He was like Joseph’s personal slave, and Joseph loved it. He liked to parent Alfred. After all, he was used to being “dad” to all his siblings.
Eventually Alfred started to make up his own mind about things and started telling his brother no. This infuriated Joseph. He didn’t want to release Alfred to us and let us parent him. He wanted all the control over his brother. Yet as hard as he was on Alfred, it warmed my heart to see how soft he was with Esther. He protected her like a guard dog and even rebuked Alfred if he so much as looked at her cross-eyed.
chapter 8
Marie, Felix, and Doreen
For twenty-four years Domingo had worked for his brother-in-law in the automotive shop and was the corporate vice president. But ever since he quit drinking and going to the races, things had changed. He was no longer part of the inside jokes, the socializing after work. After his alcoholic sister’s death from cirrhosis of the liver, things were different between him and his brother-in-law. Domingo was seeing more situations where he was being asked to do things against his convictions. He had made a promise to obey God and not man, so he knew he couldn’t stay. He had been promised many benefits as a long-term employee, but he walked away from it all to stand by his convictions.
A few months later he started his own automotive and machine shop. It was small, but it was ours. The good news was that it was doing well. The bad news was that Domingo was working day and night again, leaving me to care for the five children by myself. These two young boys especially needed to spend time with their dad, but it wasn’t possible.
A year passed, and the boys were settling in a little more all the time. They certainly were not easy, but God was faithful to give us the strength and endurance we needed. They had so many bad habits but were making forward progress in small steps. Both boys loved sports, and each had one in which he excelled. For Joseph, it was soccer. He was like a prima ballerina on the soccer field, able to manipulate the ball from foot to foot and kick it precisely where he wanted it to go. I’d never seen such a young boy control a ball with so much grace and finesse. It was so beautiful to watch, it took my breath
I hung up, taking Domingo’s words to heart, and decided to wait on God. Even so, it was no easy task. I had to frequently remind myself that Joseph was the boy who had run away because he had gotten into trouble at school. He was the crazy kid who had slept in a trash can. That Alfred was the little boy abandoned by his mother, separated from his siblings, and scalded as a form of punishment.
The boys adjusted to our home and schedule quickly. I give a lot of credit to our sons Vincent and Anthony for that. They loved their little brothers and showed them the ropes, encouraging them and guiding them to the right thing when they did something wrong.
Alfred had a smile that stretched from ear to ear. He was like a Mexican jumping bean. Always moving, jumping, and running—most of the time away from me. He would steal, then look at me with bright eyes and say, “Never saw it, never touched it.” Then later we’d find the object in his pocket. He was like one of the Little Rascals—filled with so much mischief. When thinking about him, I could only use the word híjole to describe him. It’s a Spanish word loosely translated, “Is this for real? Holy guacamole!”
Alfred and Esther were the same age and got along really well. They got into a lot of mischief together, and as most siblings do, they’d get into scuffles as well. As tiny as Esther was, she stood her ground. Soon Alfred knew how far he could push her, and he’d go right to the edge of that line.
It was great to see Esther’s social skills progressing now that she had a sibling her age. Even if fighting was a part of that progress.
Alfred followed Joseph everywhere and did whatever Joseph asked him to do. He was like Joseph’s personal slave, and Joseph loved it. He liked to parent Alfred. After all, he was used to being “dad” to all his siblings.
Eventually Alfred started to make up his own mind about things and started telling his brother no. This infuriated Joseph. He didn’t want to release Alfred to us and let us parent him. He wanted all the control over his brother. Yet as hard as he was on Alfred, it warmed my heart to see how soft he was with Esther. He protected her like a guard dog and even rebuked Alfred if he so much as looked at her cross-eyed.
chapter 8
Marie, Felix, and Doreen
For twenty-four years Domingo had worked for his brother-in-law in the automotive shop and was the corporate vice president. But ever since he quit drinking and going to the races, things had changed. He was no longer part of the inside jokes, the socializing after work. After his alcoholic sister’s death from cirrhosis of the liver, things were different between him and his brother-in-law. Domingo was seeing more situations where he was being asked to do things against his convictions. He had made a promise to obey God and not man, so he knew he couldn’t stay. He had been promised many benefits as a long-term employee, but he walked away from it all to stand by his convictions.
A few months later he started his own automotive and machine shop. It was small, but it was ours. The good news was that it was doing well. The bad news was that Domingo was working day and night again, leaving me to care for the five children by myself. These two young boys especially needed to spend time with their dad, but it wasn’t possible.
A year passed, and the boys were settling in a little more all the time. They certainly were not easy, but God was faithful to give us the strength and endurance we needed. They had so many bad habits but were making forward progress in small steps. Both boys loved sports, and each had one in which he excelled. For Joseph, it was soccer. He was like a prima ballerina on the soccer field, able to manipulate the ball from foot to foot and kick it precisely where he wanted it to go. I’d never seen such a young boy control a ball with so much grace and finesse. It was so beautiful to watch, it took my breath
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