I have wanted to adopt a child since I was very young. In college, a friend and I shared our dreams of adopting a child (or two!) someday. When Darin and I first met, we talked about how we'd like to expand our family (yes, I'm saying "met" because we met, dated, got engaged, and married within 7.5 months...so that conversation came about early on). We had the same dream then - to have biological children and to adopt internationally - and we still do. Although the place we would like to adopt from has changed a few times (China, Korea, Cambodia, Uganda), our desire to adopt has not changed. We have finally decided to adopt from (drum roll, please)...
UGANDA!!!
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| Picture from Wikipedia |
There are over 144 million children in the world that need a mommy and a daddy, and God has placed it on our hearts to help one (or two!) by inviting him/her/them into our families; into our hearts and lives forever. We are so incredibly excited to be on this journey. And, yet, at the same time, we are curious as to how our families and friends will react when we bring home a child (or children!) with a different skin color, different background, etc. We've already gotten this "advice" from a number of people that we love: "That sounds nice, but don't you think you should adopt a child from the US? You know, one with white skin that looks like you?" Frustrating, right? Even worse, it's sad that people still think this way. At this point, all we can do is pray that God will open their hearts; that He will help them see past something as trivial as skin color, and help them to see the heart of a very young and innocent child...and fall in love.
This journey will be long, but in the end (or should I say, "beginning"), it will all be worth it. Our time frame is three years. Three years to raise support (because we refuse to go into debt bringing a child home - it wouldn't be wise to have another mouth to feed, along with another loan). Three years to begin the adoption process. Three years to pray for our child (or children!) and his/her mom and dad. Three years to dream (and believe me, we're definitely dreaming of the adventure that awaits us!). Three years to pray for our loved ones, both family and friends, to accept support our decision. This is going to be a long three years!
"Why three years?", you may ask. Well, Darin and I have committed to the Mission Forward ministry at our church (you can read more about that here), which happens to be a three-year campaign. Before we made our financial commitment, we were ready to adopt. Like fill-out-the-application-and-sign-on-the-dotted-line kind of ready. But then I read about Abraham and Isaac in Genesis, which is certainly nothing new for me. This time, however, the story took on a whole new meaning, though I didn't readily admit it until a few weeks later.
Darin and I had agreed to think and pray about our commitment to the campaign separately, and then we agreed on a night to talk about how much we should give and what we should sacrifice. On the night that we had planned to discuss our thoughts about our commitment, Darin came home from work looking very solemn. He said that he had been reading about Abraham and Isaac (coincidence? I don't think so...that was totally a God thing), and the sacrifice that God called Abraham to make was his son, Isaac. Abraham didn't know at the time, but God really just wanted to see if he trusted Him and would be obedient. (I'm sure most of you know how the rest of the story goes, but if not, you can read more about it here. I'd also encourage you to check out this article after reading the scripture in Genesis 22.) Darin said that he felt that, after much prayer and meditation on God's Word, that we were to sacrifice our plans to adopt for the present time. WHAT? Did I hear him correctly?!?! Yes, indeed. (This is where the part comes in...the one where I didn't want to admit to Darin that I had felt the same thing a few weeks prior. I'm stubborn. I know it. I'm working on it.) We both cried for a long time. Then I went to Jonathan's room, scooped him up out of his crib, cradled him in my arms, and rocked him. And cried. And prayed. I was emotionally drained when I left Jonathan's room. I went straight to bed and cried out to God, saying, "Why, God?" The response was immediate, as if God was right in the room with me, "So that I might be glorified." To which I retorted, "Well, why ME?" Again, God's reply was swift, but kind, "Why not you?" I didn't need to question God after that. I understood his message loud and clear. This is our time of waiting and hoping and praying for our child (really, I'm hoping that's children). This is our sacrifice. A real and true sacrifice. Sacrifice is different for everyone...and this one is ours. While it's extremely painful, it's what God has called us to do. In the process, we're hoping that He might be glorified.
So, three years is our time frame. However, we also know that our God is bigger than a time frame, and that our ways are not necessarily His ways. We are flexible. We know that God could bring about the adoption sooner, rather than later. We also know that this process may take longer than three years. If we are able to financially honor our commitment to our church, and somehow save enough money to adopt before the three-year window is up, we will be ecstatic. For now, though, we're being realistic and taking one day at a time. All the while, we're praying and planning.
We've announced to Jonathan that we will be traveling by airplane (well, probably quite a few airplanes) to Uganda to bring home a baby or two. (Yes, he'll be traveling with us. We will have to stay in Uganda for five weeks or so, and we want him to be with us so that he can bond with his sibling(s), and because we might go crazy being away from him for such a long time!) He's really excited, and sometimes he asks if we can get on the airplane now. He has also offered his opinion on the matter: NO GIRLS. He wants a brother or brothers. Too bad, kid. I love you to pieces, but you may not get your wish! We haven't decided on a gender, so we'll be praying about that, too!
Would you please pray for us as we embark on this journey? And remember: God is good.
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