Guest: Our Story Is Not Complete
Our Adoption Story is not complete. Maybe it never is! But so far here is a snippet of what God has been doing in our Adoption Journey. I come from a family of adoption. My youngest brother is adopted and seeing that journey unfold was a POWERFUL indicator to me that my life would someday change again by adoption. My husband also comes from a family with adoption woven into their lives. His father is adopted and has even been able to have a relationship with his birth siblings. We know Kari and Roger really well and the first time I held Zoe I knew again that someday I’d be holding my own Zoe and that Jeremy and I would embark on some kind of Adoption Journey. So if you had asked me a few years ago if our journey would have looked like this I would have told you no. I ALWAYS thought we’d adopt internationally. Then as we began really praying about this and deciding if now was the time the only thing on my heart was a domestic adoption. When I approached my husband he just smiled and said “I’m SO glad you said that…I’ve been thinking the same thing”…whoa God…thanks for putting us on the same page…thanks for guarding our hearts and just melting them together for a common dream.
So without going into the entire story here are just a few things we’ve experienced on our journey so far.
1. Overwhelming blessing from both far away and close friends and family. The support we’ve received and excitement is just overwhelming.
2. God raising the support is amazing. I’m just touched that we can do so much with so little and how awesome it is to see funds and support come from places so unexpected. We are doing the Simply Love T-shirt Fundraiser and held a big Coffee/Dessert/Auction Fundraiser. It was SUCH A FUN NIGHT! It was overwhelming to watch people just pour in and their excitement was contagious. So many friends donated for the auction, helped decorate, baked, baked and baked and just showed up to bless us! It was amazing and we are BLESSED by the community we are in.
3. Seeing my marriage and Husband change. When you’re married you see each other as spouses…I adore him and I always will always have but I have fallen in more love with Him watching Him become a Dad even before our baby is here. It’s amazing…I married him because I knew someday he’d make a great Dad but seeing this growth and excitement just makes him more amazing everyday.
4. This journey can feel very lonely at times. Then a few Sundays ago at our awesome church the sermon was about adoption. It was about entangling our lives with others. A few church members got up and spoke about their adoption journeys. One family adopted domestically as well. I cried and cried the entire service…poor Jeremy…it was INCREDIBLE and just what I needed to hear that day. We got to meet this family after church and she talked about a community of people that try and get together quarterly for support and community. YAY!
5. If I was told to only share ONE thing I’ve learned it would be this. When you open your heart and let God make you vulnerable, emotional and expectant it’s amazing what will happen. Just my heart opening slightly has let all kinds of wonderful things in. People telling me their adoption stories…even one person telling me their story as the BIRTHMOM! Whoa people! That was HUGE! We sat and cried together about what a blessing this entire process is from BOTH points of view! That blessed my heart…she’s WONDERFUL and would have been a WONDERFUL mom but was so young. What a blessing she gave to her child who has now grown into a wonderful person.
6. I am God’s…I’ve always been His and I always will be. I’m marked for Him and HIS WORK. My future Child is God’s…always will be and always has been. Even though this child is not being knitted together in my womb God is there and He’s preparing this child for us. I believe it with all my heart. You are called to adopt…it’s a pressure on your heart you can’t escape. It’s not for everyone and that is ok but it’s for us and it is how we are going to grow our family and our legacy. It’s how we will be faithful.
7. God’s heart is ALL ABOUT ADOPTION! We are His adopted Children. Eph 1:5. We can be passionate and expectant because He is. I’m praying that scripture over our journey everyday. I love that I can ask God for these things and be expectant for these things b/c His passion is adoption.
So where are we now? Our Home study is complete and we are approved through the state of Kansas. We are now waiting for the call that says we’ve been chosen by a birth mom! That is another thing God is doing in my heart…giving me a huge HEART for these sweet birth moms. They are brave, obedient and God’s. As we’ve been praying for her and praying for this journey it just kind of hit me that we get to be apart of her journey. We’ve been praying this entire experience is something that changes her life for good. I know and the birth mom I’ve been able to get to know says how incredibly difficult it is. And so my prayers for her are already for healing and that somehow she finds peace in the Lord through all of this. I want God to use us in HER life. I have a hard time putting this into words I guess. It’s just something I know God is working on in my heart right now…what this will look like and I know He is going to lead us and show us what He wants from us. What an opportunity this journey is to be faithful and open to whatever God has for you!
Nothing about this journey seems easy…everything is a lot of work…the financial piece is scary and sometimes people look at you funny. But we PRESS on…we Press on knowing God completes the work he starts. I have days I doubt everything…I doubt myself…I doubt our bank account and everything in between. But I’m always reminded how Big GOD IS and how FAITHFUL He continues to be. It seems nothing worth it or nothing He asks of us is always easy. Jeremiah 29:11…everyone knows this verse and it’s true today. He knows the plans and they are good. It’s amazing to see an adoption complete isn’t it! To see these two lives, two plans mold together for His purpose and Glory. It’s easy to read those stories, love those kids and hope for that moment…it’s a lot harder to be in this moment waiting, fundraising and expecting…so we grab onto hope, hold someone’s hand and press on. We will all get there and I know Jeremy and I will be there soon. Holding our child, raising our child and being thankful we held onto hope.
Expectant is my word of the day! So even though our journey is not complete…and again I’m not sure it ever will be God is MOVING and WORKING and CHANGING us for the better. For Him as His adopted Children to do HIS work! Thank you for being prayer warriors, adoption lovers and supporters! This world is better because of this passion! Our pictures are from our fundraiser wearing our fundraising t-shirts! What a fun fundraiser, to watch people put on your dream and declare it for you! =)
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