If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root. (Romans 11:17a)
When Matthew begins to process what it means to be adopted, he will realize that he was uprooted from his biological family tree of origin. There was a severing when his birth mother relinquished her rights to parent him. He was the branch cut off, separated from the parent tree. Ouch! That hurts! And surely a wound was created. Then through adoption he will be grafted into a new family tree where he will be replanted and allowed to grow.
Horticulturalists say that a good grafting involves a successful union at the juncture of where the grafted branch is joined to the new parent tree. The parent tree must be bound and securely attached to the young shoot which will draw nutrients from the foreign root system. The goal in grafting is to take two living plants and join them so that the whole grows as one yet each part retains its own identity.
God our heavenly Father truly understands the needs of His adopted children. He has been with Matthew from the beginning, from the womb and every step along the way. It is my prayer that Matthew will learn how to draw "new life" and nourishment from being rooted and grounded in Christ one day.
May we allow our God, the Master Gardener to touch us and shape us with his gardening tools so that we may become the beautiful tree He created us to be. Our original grafting scar will barely be visible in the shade of our strong healthy branches. Then we will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." Isaiah 61:3 NIV
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