Adopted Sisters

Hey, I’m Rachel! I am super excited to be doing this guest post on Kari’s inspiring, awesome, and crazy blog. I believe in adoption and everything it has to offer. Loving on children does wonders for the soul. I have four siblings and two are adopted. Here is my little story about how God worked on our hearts and led us on a journey to a life unexpected.

Having adopted sisters never crossed my mind growing up. I think my parents were pretty content with just the three of us kids. Life was good. However, God doesn’t do content, He would rather see us passionately living to love Him, love our Neighbor, and to make Disciples. Because, its impossible for us to live this way with out fault, He challenges us and keeps us on our toes. My parents, me, my sister and brother first met my oldest baby sister at a church function. Our preacher and his wife were her foster parents and brought her. She was just a few weeks old. I remember fighting with my mom, dad and siblings about who got to hold her first. She had us at her first whimper; she was so cute. My parents began to baby-sit her here and there which, then turned into me easily persuading my parents to let us keep her on the weekends. My twin sister, who has Cerebral Palsy, persistently pushed the idea of adoption to my parents. She usually wouldn’t have felt so strongly about such a thing. It was a God thing for sure! Soon after, my parents decided they were supposed to adopt her. Then we moved out of state. Uncertainties laid ahead. It took a couple of years, loads of paperwork, foster care trainings, traveling back and forth between states to see her, and a ton of prayer but, she was finally adopted, praise God!

While my parents were in the process of adopting my oldest baby sister, they were asked to keep a newborn for a short period of time since they were licensed foster parents. The expected outcome was that this baby would return to one of her biological parents soon after my parents got her. The longer my parents fostered her, the harder it grew to let her go for visits w/ her bio parents. As the older sister to all my siblings, I know the heartache I felt thinking a precious baby I’ve grown to love and adore might not be in my life forever. I can’t imagine the heartache my mom and dad felt. Much praise goes out to anyone who has had to deal with that. However, after two years of the unknown, my youngest baby sister was by a blessing from God, adopted!

Adoption can happen for many different reasons. I think it is awesome when someone adopts because, they feel a calling in their heart to adopt or can not have children and want to adopt. In my parents case, they had three children; two of them over the age of eighteen. Having more children was probably something they didn’t have on their minds at the time. They were worried of the changes adopting might bring. But, I’m am so proud to say my parents loved, obeyed, and served when God asked even though they were crazy scared! The act of adopting isn’t just a choice. It’s a clear cut sign from God showing you how He would love you to put your faith into actions. Most likely making sacrifices in the process. Something I’ve realized is that our lives are not our own.