Psalm of Adoption

Next month is August. A year ago, we were preparing to travel to Taiwan to pick up our two kids. A little later, all those plans came crumbling down, and we spend four months in depression, fear, and unknown. I captured how I felt at the time in an earlier blog post, and reading it today brought me to tears. As I have continued to study the Bible and allow it to change me, I kept coming back to the psalms: song written to capture the stories of people who feared, doubted, wept, and came out the other side praising Yahweh for his faithfulness. I set out to write my own psalm to capture that time, but I ended up stitching together 19 passages that express my heart more than my own fumbling words ever could.

A psalm of Robert Whiting when his adopted children were almost taken from him.

A voice was heard in Tainan,
a lament with bitter weeping over Garden City—
Rachel weeping for her children,
Parents crying out in anguish,
refusing to be comforted for their children
because they are no more.¹

My eyes are worn out from crying.
Yahweh, I cry out to you all day long;
I spread out my hands to you.²
I cry out before you day and night.
May my prayer reach your presence;
listen to my cry.³
Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the judge.⁴
Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.⁵
It is said of you, “Yahweh protects foreigners
and helps the fatherless.”⁶
With the faithful, prove yourself faithful!⁷

I delight to do your will, my God,
and your instruction is deep within me.⁸
My delight is in your instruction,
and I meditate on it day and night.⁹
Did I determine the lot cast into my lap?¹⁰
Your hand guided me to them!
Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow?¹¹

As a father has compassion on his children,
so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows what I am made of,
remembering that I am dust.¹²
Answer me quickly, Yahweh;
my spirit fails.
Don’t hide your face from me.¹³

Selah

This is what Yahweh says:
Keep your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for the reward for your work will come—
this is Yahweh’s declaration—
and your children will return from the distant land.¹⁴

I sought Yahweh, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant with joy;
their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.¹⁵

You turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
so that I can sing to you and not be silent.
Yahweh my God, I will praise you forever.¹⁶
Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.¹⁷
For Yahweh watches over the way of the righteous,¹⁸
The eyes of Yahweh are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help. ¹⁹