(the condensed version)
More than a decade ago, God used a spot on the local news to lay the idea on my heart about adopting, but for years I forgot about it. Eventually, He brought the idea back to me and I considered it for quite a while before introducing the idea to Ken, expecting him to pronounce me crazy — but he didn’t. We prayed about it, and both felt the Lord leading us to pursue adoption through the foster care system. We agreed that if either of us got “freaked out” during the process, we could stop. Through all the classes and paperwork, that never happened. Finally, everything was submitted, and we waited.
The approval process was s-l-o-w. Our paperwork was misplaced, and it was months before we even knew about it. We were frustrated, but we knew God had a plan, and felt that this must be because the child He’d chosen to add to our family was not yet available or ready to be adopted. Later, we found that this truly was the case.
We prayed that we would know when the right child came along, and that God would show us this by cutting through the red tape and making the process relatively speedy and easy.
In May 2009 our caseworker sent us info about a 14-year-old girl named Lindsey. Despite that fact that she was older than our file said we intended to adopt, her caseworker felt that we’d be a good match because Lindsey wanted a Christian family involved in their church, she loved kids, and was interested in photography. Again, trusting that God would show us if this was not His will, we proceeded to the next step.
Shortly after that email, we had a whirlwind of reviewing Lindsey’s file and teleconferencing with her caseworker, then meeting Lindsey just two days after that! We never imagined a meeting like that could be anything but awkward, but both caseworkers said it was the best, most comfortable first meeting they had ever seen. Kathryn and Lindsey hit it off right away, sharing a chair and whispering like they were already sisters.
Just a few weeks later, we signed the necessary papers and moved Lindsey into our home. This was not the “usual” time-frame. God had clearly answered our prayers to speed through the process of adoption.
At Lindsey’s age, she had to give consent to be adopted. That was a scary thought for her; for a while, she was adamant about not wanting to do so, but God put her exactly where she needed to be. At the church she attended with her foster family, the pastor’s wife was adopted at age 12, and she helped Lindsey make the difficult decision to say yes to being adopted. God always has a plan, even when we can’t see it.
On December 17, 2009, Lindsey became our daughter in the eyes of the law, though we know in God’s eyes she was already ours!
Our family: December 2009
People have asked why we would want to take on someone else’s problem. (Yes, we’ve actually been asked that exact question!) The answer: because of God’s command in James 1:27. Adoption is a picture of what God did for us in adopting us as sons and daughters, making us co-heirs with Christ. He has worked out so many details in our story, and has shown He cares about the big things and the little things! Do we have difficult days? You betcha! Parenting isn’t easy — but we know that God is in this with us, and that gives us great peace.
*Shortly before Lindsey’s adoption was finalized, we were invited to share our testimony (see video here) at our church in front of thousands of people — something I never would’ve imagined we’d have the opportunity to do. Since that time, we’ve had the opportunity to share our story in numerous ways, including radio interviews, speaking at events, and an article published in a national magazine. When we began this journey, I had NO idea we would be able to encourage others in the ministry of adoption — but God is SO much BIGGER than I can imagine!
Want to start from the beginning? The main posts:
- Why Adoption? — April 5, 2008
- Adopted through Christ — July 1, 2008
Then came Lindsey (14 years old at the time)…
- Meeting — June 10, 2009
- Let’s Call her Anne — June 12, 2009
- Here to Stay! — July 10, 2009
- Good-byes — July 22, 2009
- It’s Official! — December 17, 2009
I continue to blog our journey, so I hope you’ll keep following along!
** Recent statistics say there are more than 143 million orphans worldwide, including 115,000 waiting children right here in the U.S; I’m not okay with that. I invite you to spend a little time reading some of the inspiring adoption stories I’ve collected, and please share them with your friends and loved ones!
