We began the process of adoption around the time of Thanksgiving of 2010 after some research on various adoption agencies and seeking out advice from friends that had recently adopted... just did an on-line application to see if we qualified. We had our bold-faced, digital answer from God! We were approved to adopt from the country of Ethiopia. Whoo hoo! We did a whole bunch of research on the country of Ethiopia - any information we could get our hands on for that knowledge was bringing us closer to our little one so far away. We were thrilled and excited but also a bit nervous... I was nervous about taking care of a little Ethiopian girl's hair, as I can barely take care of my own mane and the 3 easy boys' coifs we have in our current household at that - ha!
This new direction felt oddly comforting and right, though, not scary or self-defeating or even self-fulfilling. We were fulfilling God's plan! We had our answer, and we couldn't wait to share this news with our family. We told my family and my in-laws over the Christmas holiday about our plans. We were very encouraged by their support. Whew, they shared in our excitement! It was really fun telling them all about God's plan for our family.
We then got all of our home-study materials and dossier materials - oh, the paperwork. I can't adequately describe this part of the process, as it is very overwhelming but absolutely do-able. I don't want to alarm anyone or turn anyone off to the adoption option. It isn't that bad - just reality. We began furiously filling out paper after paper after paper......... The weight and reality of the difficulty of this process kind of took over for a brief instance! It was definitely going to be like a marathon, we thought, and we were not going to grow weary of this process, because it was, after all - necessary - "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 We were determined to do this in as quick a manner as possible. Our competitive nature (in racing against the clock) was about to kick in and be used for a force of good! Nice!
Then it was time to tell our kiddos. We waited to have to tell them until this process effected their lives. My husband and I decided to tell them on Valentine's Day this year. What greater time to talk about our action of love toward our Lord and Savior than in stepping out in HIS plan and show our love for one of God's orphans? We read them a devotional about a family that adopted from Africa and was that weird or wonderful?? It was an amazing little story about how God can knit together families in the heart and not just in the womb. The family heard God's call for their whole family, not just the mom and dad, we pointed out to the kids. The boys had great questions about it and were actually amazed that little kids could be called to God's plan, too. Oh, they are learning so much from this experience already - thank you, God! Yes, little children can get calls from the Lord, too! We told them that we also heard that call for all of us, not just for mom and dad, and that we would be following that call to Ethiopia to bring home one of God's children, an orphan, to be in our family forever... Conner and Carson would be big brothers again, and Chase would finally get to be a big brother! Conner crumpled into tears of joy; Carson did a happy dance and asked for a sister; Chase got kind of quiet (thought he was going to be upset about no longer being the baby of the family), but he said, "He knew something like this was happening - didn't know what - but that he knew it in his heart!" Oh man, did their reactions get to me. The tears started streaming down my cheeks. It got to JJ, too, for I have only seen my husband cry 3 other times in our 18 years of marriage. God was working in that man's heart for sure. Again, thank you, God! It was a moment I will NEVER forget!
The next day, the kiddos couldn't wait to tell their classmates. I was so happy that they were happy. Conner told his classmates through sobs and tears... such a tender-hearted young man. Carson told the kids with great enthusiasm and confidence that he was going to have a new 5-year old brother after the adoption was finalized... ha, such an imaginative young man. Chase tried to retell the devotional story from the night before... such a little thinker. Conner's classmates (mostly a group of 5th-grade girls from his class) surrounded me in hugs and wishes of congratulations that same day. They were thrilled for us, too. They also said that they wanted to help us bring home our new son or daughter by wanting to organize a pop-can drive to help offset costs. Bless their hearts. Conner's class has been together since kindergarten, so they are all pretty close. Even if it never happens, I was so touched! The tears were flowing down my cheeks again.The hands and feet of Jesus, even in His children, were wanting to help us bring home our child - God's child. I was overwhelmed that
5th-graders would want to move so quickly into action for us - what a beautiful picture of the community of believers. What can I say?? The Lord is good :)
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