Plenty Of Room In This Inn

It was Otto von Bismark who declared that "politics is the art of the possible," and we have just witnessed again another fine example of average citizens doing politics (social, local, federal, and international) in a manner that eclipses much of what we do in Ottawa these days.You've heard the story of  Imagine Adoption a few times in these pages, and with each entry it just keeps getting better.  To recap. On July 10th, hopeful adoptive parents woke to the devastating news that the Imagine Adoption agency was filing for bankruptcy. All their plans, many very expensive, were dashed. Worse still, hope ended for a brighter future that day.Except that it didn't. These remarkable future parents met on July 30th and opted to do everything possible to get the agency back on its feet, regardless of the sacrifice involved, because what mattered most wasn't so much their own aspirations but the very future of the kids their hearts were set upon. On September 4th they met again and willingly committed $4000 extra per family, above the thousands they had donated already, to keep the operation afloat. Not all families would benefit from the plan, but the majority voted to proceed and on October 1st, the agency got back on its feet, with a new office location and three staff members to run the day-by-day operation. Some of the hopeful parents regarded it as a miracle, and who can argue.The rebuilding phase could never be completed as long as the Ethiopian government maintained grave doubts about Imagine's ability to provide a transparent procedure, and so three people were sent to that African country to restore trust and re-establish the pivotal relationships required to get the children to Canada. With goodwill on both sides, that trust was quickly re-cemented and the procedure was open once more to fulfill hopes that only a few months previous appeared impossible.And then just yesterday the word arrived that four of the families have been matched and have seen pictures of their children for the first time, with many more to follow. Truly remarkable.It's the Christmas season - that time when Christian tradition says the entire world stopped and held its breath as devoted parents traveled great distances to save the life of one child. Well, that remarkable story is now finding its present-day example. People - average, yet remarkable Canadians - cried out in their pain for solutions, little realizing that it was to be found in their own hearts and collective determination. This above all is a story of a remarkable love incarnated in the form of deep citizenship. There's plenty of room in this inn this Christmas, don't doubt it.  What we attempt to do as politicians but can never quite bring about, these remarkable people have accomplished through the power of the human spirit. May their children follow in their dedicated and caring footsteps. To all of those parents, thank you for making the Christmas spirit real for all of us again.