Monday, April 29, 2013

The Beginning


This past November, I felt God laying on my heart the idea of starting a family. But I wasn’t sure if I was having these thoughts because it was National Adoption month or if He really was trying to get my attention. So, I prayed. I prayed every day it seemed. I saw signs and heard commercials all the time about adoption but I wanted to wait until December to really consider it. December 1st came and my husband, Sam, and I went and got Chinese take-out. We brought it back home and had a romantic dinner for two. At the end we always do this thing where we count to three and open our fortune cookies together. So we counted…one, two, and three. Crack! We opened them and I read my fortune. But as soon as I read it I busted into tears and ran into my “prayer closet.” It read, “You will succeed in whatever you adopt.” I knew it…I just knew it was God’s way of answering my prayer. So, I prayed that He would show me again tomorrow.

The next day came, December 2nd, and Sam decided we should visit a different church just for a change. So, we went to a friend’s church and we were drawn into the sermon. The pastor started to give his testimony and how a college classmate made a huge impact on his life. He went onto say that this same classmate had been adopted by a godly married couple who poured Jesus into his life daily. Instantly, I started to tear up because I felt God speaking to me once again. I silently prayed that he would again speak to me tomorrow. I woke up on December 3rd and turned on my computer. My home page popped up immediately, which is my Twitter page, and the first tweet was from Focus on the Family about Adoption. I had no doubt what so ever in my mind and my heart that this was what God wanted us to do. I shared my feelings about adoption with my husband that very night and he revealed that he also had those same feelings. So, for the rest of that night we prayed. The following morning, we started researching and looking up everything we could about adoption.

Immediately, God started putting people in our paths to talk to about their own personal experience with adoption. It was through one of these people, a dear church member, that we found Children of the World. We reached out to Children of the World and they instantly got in contact with us. Now we are closer than ever to fulfilling God’s call on our lives. Sam and I pray constantly for our child or children where ever they may be, that they would be safe and loved on until we can finally meet. We are also praying for our hearts as future parents to be accepting and understanding no matter the circumstance. Sam and I want to be the greatest parents we can possibly be for our children. We want to have a positive influence and make the best choices we can in regards for their future. Sam and I will take our positions as parents seriously. We will take our children to church, be involved in their activities, and help them grow into mature adults.

Sam and I see adoption as a beautiful example of God’s love. God, himself, adopts us into His family when we accept His son as Lord of our hearts. In the same way, we want to share God’s love with our own children. In 1 John 4:7 the Bible tells us to “love one another, for love comes from God.” As Christians, Sam and I feel that we are called by God to love because God is love. Our main reason and only motivation for adopting is to love. We both have a history of adoption in our families and have personally seen the hardships but also the benefits of adopting. It has always been a desire for us to have a blended family and we feel completely called by God to do so. Sam and I have a heart for adoption and want to start our family through that process first. We have chosen to make adoption a plan A instead of an option B. We truly have the love to give and the desire to be parents to a needing child. We choose to Adopt Love.
 
Please join us in prayer and follow our blog for updates as we continue on our journey to adopt.

Blessings,

Lea