When Stephen and I were dating we spoke of
adoption. We didn’t really know why, but
the seed was planted in our hearts.
When we were newlyweds, we had an opportunity to host
orphans in our home who were traveling through our city and singing at our
church. We had two little girls who spent the night with us. That night I fell in love with these little
girls. After they left and as the days
went by I found myself praying for them.
God used these two little girls to water the seed that was planted in my
heart.
Over time, Stephen and I began discussing adoption
seriously. I got pregnant with Anna-Kate
and then a couple of years later with Caleb and we moved to Huntsville.
But God was doing a deep work in my heart.
After moving to Huntsville we started attending a new church. Our
church hosted an evening dedicated to talking about adoption and foster
care. The seed that was planted was
beginning to be watered.
We talked a lot in the coming days of what the Lord was doing in our
hearts. We knew we had been called to
adopt, we just were not sure where to begin.
As the Lord often does, he placed us in a missional community (small
group) in our church with a couple who was walking through the adoption
process. We went over to their house for
dinner one night to talk about adoption and we left that evening knowing we
wanted to use Lifeline Children’s Services as our agency.
A few months later, God brought another friend into my life. A friend
who doesn’t live in the same town, but He connected our hearts in the pursuit
of Him and adoption. In His infinite wisdom He knew I would need this friend
for the days ahead.
The longer I have known Christ, the more I see the ugliness of my
sin. The more I see my sin, the more I understand my need for a Savior. That
God would take me- a rebellious, undeserving, sinner as his daughter with the
same rights and inheritance as His Son overwhelms me with gratitude. I have
given God no reason to love me, but He does.
I have given Him no reason to redeem me, but He did. He reconciled me to
Himself and restored me to be a part of His family.
The more we walk through this adoption process, the more I understand
my own redemption story.
“It is important to
realize we adopt not because we are rescuers. No. We adopt because we are
rescued.” — David Platt
Right now
there is an orphan who has no idea they have a father and mother on the other
side of the world, pursuing them, working to come and get them. Not because of
anything they have done because they are utterly unable to do so, but because
we are pursuing them. This is the heart
of the gospel.
The
glorious reality of the Gospel is that we don’t become God’s children through
our initiative or any invitation from us, but instead he works to bring us into
his family. Ephesians 1 says before we were ever born, God was working to adopt
us. While we were lying alone in the
depth of our sin, God was planning to save us. We have become a part of the
family of God because of a love entirely beyond our control and completely
beyond our imagination. The gospel does not begin with our pursuit of Christ,
but with Christ’s pursuit of us.
Since we have announced we are adopting I’ve had
several questions so I hope to answer those below. I am not an expert, and we
are in the beginning stages of the adoption process, but if you have more
questions I will be glad to direct you to someone who knows much more than I
do.
Where
are you adopting from? We are adopting from China.
How
long does the process take? The process is about 12-18
months. We began our process late last
year, and we trust the timing is in the Lord’s hands.
Are
you adopting a boy or a girl? We don’t know. We are
open to both and are excited to see if we will have another son or another
daughter.
How
old will your child be? Once again, we don’t know.
Thank you for following along in our adoption
journey. We covet your prayers as we
continue on in our adoption journey.
