Cry Uncle by Isaiah Rodolph
In 2009, my brother Aaron and his wife Nicole opened their home to a foster baby named Aden, a newborn boy who was broken by genetic disease and abuse. A few months after getting this baby, Nicole left me with Aden while she ran some errands. I’m a mechanical engineer by training, and am quite comfortable operating large, complicated equipment, but the thought of being left with Aden put me on the edge of panic. I’m also rather relaxed with babies, commonly working in our church nursery and already having four kids of my own. Aden was a different story though: at this time in his life, he had broken every long bone in his body due to Brittle Bone Disease. He also was fed through a hole in his stomach using a chemical pump. Taking care of this baby with all these health issues was more than I could handle!
Thankfully, God brought me through that time and many other times of watching Aden. Even greater, God healed Aden’s stomach and has helped him through his Brittle Bone Disease. Today, Aden Rodolph is a vibrant 4 year old boy, mostly bent on whatever good time happens to be going on in his vicinity!
In 2011, Aaron and Nicole took in a little foster girl, who is now named Madilyn. She was 3 months old at the time, and was also damaged by abuse. For whatever reason, God knit our hearts together: I loved little Madi like she was my own daughter and she had me “wrapped around her finger”. Whenever she was around, she wanted me to hold her, and I would melt in her glow as I would sit and hug her. After having her for about a year, it seemed we would get to keep her forever. But the wheels of the system turned, and she was to be sent far away to a different home, seldom to be seen again.
I was so heartbroken…so, so heartbroken. God had comforted our families before with the truth that He has a plan for our lives and is in complete control. No matter where these children went, this would still be true. I tried to rest my grief in that truth, but struggled to let go.
Amazingly, God changed the course of things, and Aaron and Nicole were able to adopt Madi during the summer of 2013. What a glorious day!!
For my brother and his wife, these two children have been an immense weight, and I know it has blessed them many times to have some help carrying that load. My wife Andrea and I have watched Aden and Madi many times while Aaron and Nicole went on mission trips, business trips, or one of Aden’s many medical trips to Salt Lake City.
Getting to be an uncle to Aden and Madi is one of God’s wonderful gifts in my life. I’ve also come to realize it is a high calling from God: a calling to love them like Jesus, a calling to teach His Word, and a calling to lead by example with my life and show them how to follow after Jesus. It is one of the greatest joys in my life, to see my front door fly open as Aden and Madi spill through into my house, and cry out with delight, “UNCLE!!!!”
In 2009, my brother Aaron and his wife Nicole opened their home to a foster baby named Aden, a newborn boy who was broken by genetic disease and abuse. A few months after getting this baby, Nicole left me with Aden while she ran some errands. I’m a mechanical engineer by training, and am quite comfortable operating large, complicated equipment, but the thought of being left with Aden put me on the edge of panic. I’m also rather relaxed with babies, commonly working in our church nursery and already having four kids of my own. Aden was a different story though: at this time in his life, he had broken every long bone in his body due to Brittle Bone Disease. He also was fed through a hole in his stomach using a chemical pump. Taking care of this baby with all these health issues was more than I could handle!
Thankfully, God brought me through that time and many other times of watching Aden. Even greater, God healed Aden’s stomach and has helped him through his Brittle Bone Disease. Today, Aden Rodolph is a vibrant 4 year old boy, mostly bent on whatever good time happens to be going on in his vicinity!
In 2011, Aaron and Nicole took in a little foster girl, who is now named Madilyn. She was 3 months old at the time, and was also damaged by abuse. For whatever reason, God knit our hearts together: I loved little Madi like she was my own daughter and she had me “wrapped around her finger”. Whenever she was around, she wanted me to hold her, and I would melt in her glow as I would sit and hug her. After having her for about a year, it seemed we would get to keep her forever. But the wheels of the system turned, and she was to be sent far away to a different home, seldom to be seen again.
I was so heartbroken…so, so heartbroken. God had comforted our families before with the truth that He has a plan for our lives and is in complete control. No matter where these children went, this would still be true. I tried to rest my grief in that truth, but struggled to let go.
Amazingly, God changed the course of things, and Aaron and Nicole were able to adopt Madi during the summer of 2013. What a glorious day!!
For my brother and his wife, these two children have been an immense weight, and I know it has blessed them many times to have some help carrying that load. My wife Andrea and I have watched Aden and Madi many times while Aaron and Nicole went on mission trips, business trips, or one of Aden’s many medical trips to Salt Lake City.
Getting to be an uncle to Aden and Madi is one of God’s wonderful gifts in my life. I’ve also come to realize it is a high calling from God: a calling to love them like Jesus, a calling to teach His Word, and a calling to lead by example with my life and show them how to follow after Jesus. It is one of the greatest joys in my life, to see my front door fly open as Aden and Madi spill through into my house, and cry out with delight, “UNCLE!!!!”