07.07.07 - Nashville, Tennessee
Edgar and I had been dating since December 2006 (after meeting in Shanghai, China in September 2006 - but that’s another story). Several of our friends from our Church were travelling up to Nashville for a large event of prayer and fasting hosted by The Call. On this incredibly powerful day, we spent time in corporate prayer repenting for rejecting the blessings God has given us as a nation. Psalms 127:3 tells us “children are a gift from the Lord”, and yet as a nation we fall so short of that perspective.
One of our big takeaways from that day was the cry for more people to rise up with a passion for adoption. How can we point a finger at those who see no way of taking care of their own child if we ourselves are not willing to be the answer to their cries? As believers in Jesus Christ, it is our calling and our privilege to welcome these precious little blessings into our home. Whether they were abandoned, unwanted or born into a home where good-willed parents just simply cannot care for them, it is our calling to have homes that are beacons of light and hope for those who have no hope. And so this cry for our generation to have a passion for adoption, to have a heart that beats with redemption was hugely impressed on our hearts that day! We knew from that moment forward that in addition to having biological children, adoption was also Plan A for our family.
Fast forward to July 2012…
Edgar and I have been married for just over 4 years. In those years, our hearts have been stretched and deepened as we have gained greater insight into God’s incredibly powerful redemptive heart towards us. We lost our first two children, in April 2011 and April 2012, before they could even breathe their first breathe on this earth and our hearts yearned for heaven where our precious babies are alive and perfect in the very presence of God Almighty. Through that suffering and heartache, we’ve gained greater perspective of eternity, parenthood, loss and hope. We continued to reference our passion for adoption, all the while Edgar being open to it at any moment and me - having it all nicely figured out in my perfect little plan - knowing it would be years before we began any adoption process.
Then July 28th 2012 came…
It was an ordinary morning, where we woke up at our regular time of 5:55am, I made our usual pot of coffee and I sat in my familiar cozy spot on the couch to meet with Jesus. But that morning, God spoke so clearly and loudly to my heart telling me - seemingly out of nowhere - that NOW is the time to start the adoption process!!! The urgency of this feeling startled me, and the timing was certainly not according to my perfect little plan for our family. Because we always knew that we would adopt, but right now Lord?? Really?! I wasn’t sure if He knew all that we had going on at this point in life… Ha ha. But it was so clearly evident to my heart that adoption was now a bright green light gleaming right in front of me.
That evening as I told Edgar about the revelation I had in my quiet time, he grinned from ear to ear! Evidently Edgar had been waiting for the Lord to speak to my heart. I asked Edgar when we should practically get started and his answer was “Tomorrow!”. :-) After seeking the Lord together, we quickly made the decision to go with Generations Adoptions, and very soon thereafter landed on the country Uganda.
An excerpt from my journal the day after we began the process reads: “…these children to come are my babies, whether or not our skin is the same color. They are the precious little hearts Jesus has entrusted to us, to shepherd with wisdom, love and compassion. All the little ones we will welcome into our home and hearts are Plan A for us. And so we begin… And we know this journey will be more difficult and painful than we ever dreamed, but it will also be more beautiful and worth it than we ever imagined. Jesus, hold us closely as we take this leap of faith.”
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