What To Expect When You're Expecting (A Teenager)

I have officially entered the "obsession" stage of adoption which is all-too-familiar as this is our 4th adoption but no less crazy-making than the last three times.  Since our new son is 15 full years old, I can't run to the latest pregnancy book and find a page telling me he is roughly the size of a plum  but I CAN read copious amounts of material on teen adoption. That is what I have been doing.Thanks to my good friend "google", I have officially decided to STOP reading!  From the sounds of things, our pets are about to be murdered, our house set ablaze and my purse pilfered.  Our cough medicine will be summarily digested since we don't have a liquor cabinet and my car silently rolled down the driveway as our new son attempts to joyride at 4am without waking the family. Factor in the new grandchild he will inevitably produce with the clerk from our local Zippy Mart and the pay-per-view pornography we are going to be charged for and you've got yourself the latest information on the internet related to teen adoption. Very encouraging, no?
I don't mean to minimize the problems others have faced with their teens and, of course, I have condensed two weeks' worth of reading into one laundry list of challenges simply because hyperbole makes for great blogging (ha ha).  My point is, that much like the nightly news that our family has dubbed the "Eleven O'Clock Bad News", adoption of teens is painted in sensationalistic hues for increased readership.    Only the worst case scenarios seem to make it to the internet and many of those are posted "anonymously" causing me to wonder if some bored 45 year old bachelor in his mother's basement is taking a break from World Of Warcraft and typing these stories!
It would be scary reading if I weren't so convinced that God is calling us to this young man and where He calls, He equips.  I know there will be challenges and hard times. We have experienced those with all of our children, biological and adopted. It's life. Nobody's perfect except our Savior and as we are shaped into the image of His son, the cutting away and squeezing into the mold can hurt. It's in those times I've leaned most heavily on Jesus and found His arms more than sufficient to both carry my burden and embrace my whole family.  He's good like that. . . always calling us to give more of ourselves and then producing such joy in the giving that it doesn't feel like sacrifice -it feels like privilege. 

Unrelated to this post, I just wanted to share a favorite new picture of Ezekiel (it's a lollipop, he's not a smoker)