Hello My Name Is…
What LOVE the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called His children! And what a great honor to be able, in return, to pour out that love on a son! We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Everyone has been asking to hear the story, so here it is! We saw his picture on a Friday, prayed and fell in love with him before we even saw his file on that Monday. Some of his medical conditions were very scary so we had an adoption medical specialist look over his files. Her news was not totally positive, but we knew that he was the one God had been preparing our hearts for. From the first time we saw his picture to submitting commitment papers was exactly one week. God confirmed over and over that he was the one for us. He had been working in our hearts for the last two months about totally releasing all of our “specifications” on our medical needs list. Ultimately, we would never have been matched with our son if we had not surrendered to His plan, as he didn’t meet our “specifications” medically or age-wise.
I think the biggest surprise of this part of the journey is the intensity of emotions that come with finding your child. Here is an excerpt from my personal journal from two weeks ago to sum up some of those feelings. ~
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of Justice. Blessed are all who wait on Him! ~ Isaiah 30:18
The last 30 hours have been a complete roller coaster! I didn’t even get through his first video without weeping like a baby at him calling for ‘mama.’ We should hear back from the international adoption doctor by this time tomorrow. I think in my heart, I am already calling him mine, but I know my logical side must be satisfied with all the facts. We know we must make the decision God chooses, not what we think is right. We will meet with our pastor tomorrow in an attempt to find complete clarity. Despite all the emotions, I sat down to listen to some worship music to quiet my heart. I landed on “Came to My Rescue” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMbEPZfWCY
) and was just ushered into the presence of Jesus. Everything else faded away and all I could think was of everything He has done for me and how I wanted to share His story with this little boy. I heard His familiar whisper as I prayed.
– What about his medical issues? Surely we aren’t prepared to handle them.
– I am the Healer.
– What about his age? He is older than Baby Girl.
– I create families.
At this point I’m remembering that without God there is no concept of family. He created it. Who am I to tell Him how to put mine together? I am feeling like a sheep who has been tapped with a Shepard’s crook and nudged back in line. Of course, I am ashamed at my disrespect and lack of trust until I hear His sweet voice again.
– Oh, Beloved. Follow Me.
I don’t know if this answers our questions, but it fills me with such peace. There is such an overwhelming satisfaction in simply being still and knowing that He is God. What an amazing gift to be loved by Him. Instead of agonizing over what we are supposed to do, I find myself excited to just see what He will do. I do love this little boy and I desperately hope we make the right decisions. If we became pregnant, there would be no room for doubt because God would have already given life. It is much harder to think you are responsible for making the right or wrong choice.
One thing I have found particularly interesting is that his birth mother and I were pregnant at the same time. When I was pregnant and convinced God was bringing us a son, was I right? Was He preparing me from the beginning? This mother’s heart has peace knowing that the Good and Perfect Father orchestrates all things according to His perfect plan.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ Isaiah 30:21″ ~
So with all of those fears laid to rest, we are thrilled to announce that Baby Girl is now a sister to a big brother! He is 2 years old and we can’t wait to bring him home. Adoption has so many similarities to spiritual salvation, it is hard to not draw comparisons from there. Just as the Father seeks us, brings us to His table and heals our brokenness, He also makes us a new creation. And for our sweetie, a new life means a new name too. For us, we couldn’t see a greater way to express our love than to give him the name of his father. What a precious thought to know he is fatherless no more! His birth name is very special to us and will still be used in our house also. However, for privacy reasons, we will not be posting either.
We are hoping to travel to meet him sometime in early Spring, and hopefully we will all be home together by this time next year!
S
o there you have it, folks! We are now the proud parents of two precious kiddos!
Here are some specific prayer requests:
~ Pray for Little Man to develop strength in his trunk and legs. He was born with spina bifida which has affected his development greatly.
~ Pray for his hydrocephaly to heal completely so he will no longer need a shunt.
~ Pray for God’s glory to be shown to his caregivers.
~ Pray for our hearts to prepare for him and his heart to be prepared for us.
~ Pray for God to provide all of the funds necessary to complete his adoption without delays. Our fees will be due much faster than we originally planned, since our timeline is much shorter, and we still have a loooong way to go on our fees. But God has provided for every need so far and we have no doubt that He will continue to do so.
