Until this point, my life was safe. I went to college, got married, got a job, bought a house, and had a beautiful baby boy. Not to mention, I went to a Christian college, have mostly Christian friends, and currently teach at a Christian school. Pretty safe living.
After the message, I felt like God was calling my husband and I to adopt. We had always talked about adoption in our future, but at this point we had a 9 month old and couldn't imagine having another baby any time soon. Plus, adoption was so uncertain and so expensive. We just couldn't afford it. We wanted to keep our perfectly safe lives, but God had other plans.
From August to October, we got some pretty clear signs we should adopt. So clear, we recorded every one on my iPad.
- Right after the "safe life" sermon mentioned above, the church showed a video telling the story of a boy who had been adopted.
- A sad story on the news about a baby dying because of neglect brought me to tears as I wished that mom had given up her child for someone else to care for.
- A girl in my class brought in a book telling about the story of her younger brother's adoption from Russia.
- My husband and I daily heard radio commercials about an adoption conference being held in Louisville.
- While stopped at a red light, we saw a sign on the curb that said, "Looking to adopt?" and gave information about an adoption organization.
- While walking in the neighborhood one day, we met a family that had adopted their daughter when she was 13 years old.
- One of my good friends from college got a job at an adoption agency.
But the last and most obvious sign that lead us to adoption came at the end of October when my 16 year old sister found out she was pregnant. Considering the options she had and trying to follow God's will, we offered to adopt the baby. After some discussions, she agreed that letting us adopt her baby was best.
We knew we would become parents again in July (my sister is due on the 8th) and we were so excited! But we didn't expect what happened next. More than a month after we agreed to adopt my sister's baby and four pregnancy tests later (because I didn't quite believe it was true), I found out we would be expecting a baby on July 13. Yes, God must have a sense of humor because my sister and I are due 5 days apart! Obviously we have many concerns, worries, fears, and doubts, but we are trusting in the plan God has for us and know that because we are saved, we are safe. God's got us no matter what.
Please pray for us as we prepare to go from having one sweet baby boy, to having three sweet little ones under 18 months!
Please pray for us as we prepare to go from having one sweet baby boy, to having three sweet little ones under 18 months!
