We grew our family through adoption in 2012, but it was not by choice. Kevin and I were married for 12 years at the time and had an amazing 7-year-old biological son, Noah. Adoption wasn’t something we ever discussed, and it certainly wasn’t on our radar. We were “one and done” until that September evening in 2010 when we walked out of a Steven Curtis Chapman concert and Kevin looked at me on the ride home and said, “I could adopt!” I wasn’t sure how serious he was until I found him researching “adoption” online later that night. That evening was the beginning of our adoption journey, but it was even more than that. It was the beginning of our family putting our faith and trust in God like never before! If you want to see God intimately, ADOPT!
After nearly a year and a half of paperwork, social worker visits, paperwork, fingerprinting, more paperwork…we received a call that we had a son in Korea! Nothing could ever prepare you for that call, especially when it comes 8 months earlier than expected (God). While we waited for that call, our prayers changed from “asking” God to work through this adoption to “thanking” Him for the promise we knew we were about to receive. In June of 2012, the three of us traveled to Korea to meet and bring home Eli, who was 16 months old at the time. I was so excited the moment I saw him that I jumped out of the van, but my seatbelt was still attached!
Once again, “we thought” our family was complete, but again, God had other plans! We had just sold our home, and we were living in a rental until Noah and Eli finished the school year. It was a Wednesday in December that I received a text message from a friend who adopted her son from Haiti. Her social worker contacted her about a 4-year-old adopted from Korea 6 months prior who needed respite care and a possible permanent placement. My heart sobbed as I read some of the events that took place in this child’s four short years of life, and I immediately sent Kevin a text at work and asked, “How many children did you imagine us having? And no, I’m not pregnant!” We prayed and met with our kids and family, and it was evident that God called us to pursue this child, but we received a call just two days later that the current adoptive family changed their mind. Although Kevin and I were upset, we knew that one less disruption for this child would be the best option. I wept as we sang, “Do It Again” by Elevation Worship that Sunday at church, not knowing if God would move mountains for this family or for us. You can imagine my surprise that Wednesday afternoon, just one week from the first text message, when my phone rang at work, and I was told that Sam would be at our house THAT EVENING! Just four days before Christmas in 2016, we received the best gift ever…Sam!
Looking back, we have experienced joy and we have experienced hardships. When we didn’t know where the money for an international adoption was going to come from, God provided. When Eli couldn’t fall asleep at night unless some part of his body was touching me, God gave me the rest I needed sleeping next to him on an air mattress with one arm through the crib bars for nine months. When a scared four-year-old walked into our home with a traumatic past, God gave us the love and patience needed to help him feel secure. When Eli’s biological family reached out to us and we wondered how it would make Sam feel, God blessed us with a relationship with Sam’s half-brother in Vegas.
We promised God that He would be evident through our adoptions, and we are always happy to tell others about God’s many miracles! I am so glad that God chose us and that we said “Yes!”
