Walking with eyes WIDE open …

Our Moses basket is ready and we wait with hope!

The decision to release a child to adoptive parents is one that takes incredible fortitude and strength from above.  We continue to pray for birth parents and wait in FAITH for a little one handpicked by the Lord.  

Look back with me at one of the earliest stories of open adoption … a true account from Exodus 2 in the Bible where we see a set of Hebrew parents from the house of Levi.  They gave birth to a son (later to be named Moses) during a time of difficult oppression – a season of bitter slavery in Egypt.  We first meet Amram, the birth father, and then Jochebed, the birth mother.  They were two parents who longed to see the Lord fulfill a good plan for their baby.  This mom had no doubt her son was “a fine child”, so “hid him for three months” against the Pharaoh’s evil decree (verse 2).  Jochebed knew her infant’s life was in significant danger, but trusted her Heavenly Father and wisely formed a plan to protect his precious life.  Her eyes were wide open to the threat of death lurking at her door, and yet she fixed her eyes on her faithful Lord.

 

What imminent danger was brewing?  The shrewd Pharaoh of Egypt was out to control the Hebrew population by tragically killing off the male babies. It was a horrific form of ethnic cleansing.  (This is a theme that repeats in history with God’s people, both the Jews and grafted-in Christians.  Pharaoh depicted an anti-Christ spirit much like Haman in Esther’s time, Hitler in WW2, and like the future Anti-Christ that will arise in the tribulation times.)  Such dark evil breaks God’s heart, but He always provides a protective cover for a remnant of his faithful followers.

 

Imagine living as a Hebrew parent during these bitter times when life along the Nile River was not guaranteed.  Families lived in ruthless slavery and in addition, baby boys were being thrown into the Nile waters.  It would have been tempting to fret, fear, lose sleep, and completely fall apart as a new parent hiding out with your son.  How did this Hebrew mother survive those three months under cover and then know when to deliver her son on down the river?

 

I have to wonder how closely Jochebed walked with God, for she obtained an incredibly wise plan to protect her new born.  This must have been a plan that the Lord Yahweh laid out and revealed. Like Hannah, this mother most likely dedicated her child to the Lord and promised to do as He asked – even if it met letting go.  It takes honorable parents to craft a papyrus basket, coat it with pitch and tar (similar to a mini Noah’s ark), and place a precious three month old in it to float toward enemy lines.  Yes, Moses’s parents actually sent him drifting toward Pharaoh’s palace with enormous faith and fervent prayers.  What courage!

Protected in a little ark, Moses drifted toward his adopted mother.

 

Miriam, the older sister to Moses, was chosen to be the watch-woman that oversaw the delivery of the basket into proper hands.  She proved steadfast and reliable.  Her eyes never left the basket she was guarding.  This was the first leadership position Miriam was given in the scriptures, and later she would rise as a leader of the Hebrew women during the exodus.  There is no doubt she was a family member who wanted to honor her parents and provide the best care for her infant brother.

 

In God’s sovereign plan, Pharaoh’s daughter spotted Moses in the reeds while wading in the river to bathe (verse 5).  I love how this soon–to-be-adopted-mother also had eyes wide open!  She was looking up and out as she went about her daily tasks.  All too often our heads are down and minds are distracted. What good gifts pass by us daily because of our own agenda?  An Egyptian Queen named Bitiah had compassion on the Hebrew child she drew from the waters.  Yet Miriam was positioned and prepared to advocate for her brother, and volunteered to find a Hebrew nurse for the infant.  Talk about a divine appointment on the banks of the Nile just yards away from the enemy himself!  God faithfully orchestrated for Jochebed, Moses’s birth mom, to regain several years of child rearing.  Yet simultaneously He was preparing Pharaoh’s daughter to become the adoptive mother Moses would need to rise up in a royal family.

 

Exodus 2 verse 10 is when the loving birth mother has eyes to see what was best for her boy.  Jochebed weaned the child and made the decision to formally give her son up for adoption.  Yes, she released him into the Lord’s hands and into the household of Pharaoh.  What courage and strength this birth parent depicted!  I wish I could have witnessed this ancient open adoption and asked her how her heart both grieved and rejoiced.  I’d love to walk the river banks with both Queen Bitiah and Jochebed to hear their hearts and hopes for Moses.  Perhaps Jochebed, a true matriarch, should be spoken of more often and praised for her selflessness and faith in Yahweh.  Bitiah should also be commended for rebelling against the genocide, rescuing baby Moses, and slipping her adopted son past the evil dictator leading Egypt astray.  What responsibility was demonstrated on the parts of both women!  

Join us in walking with eyes wide open as we look to connect with a birth mother and baby by word of mouth.  Please share our contact information (610.331.0495 or jerams@gmail.com) and this blog site as you feel led.  Desiring to contribute to our family adoption?  Visit www.adopttogether.org and search Gillette family.  Blessings!