The Life We Never Imagined | Family Friday
With each of our three adoptions, we have come to a deeper understanding of the Father’s sovereignty … and the beautiful joy that comes out of the adoption tragedy.
One quote, in particular, kept us going in spite of the storms. “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.” This rang especially true during the adoption of our daughter, Edie from Hungary. We struggled financially, spiritually, and emotionally. Our situation, in the world’s eyes, was telling us we were crazy for going through with this adoption. Many times we were discouraged and scared.
We lost a referral. Both of our fathers had surgeries. One of our dads endured cancer treatments. We struggled to meet the emotional, physical, and academic needs of our boys. We faced negativity from people in our lives who did not understand our call to adopt again. And, of course, we felt the financial burden of adopting.
Through it all God continuously led us to Isaiah 43 specifically verses 18-19 and the book of Nehemiah.
We clung to and pressed into His words reminding us that it is He who creates, forms, redeems, and calls each of us – that He will be with us as we pass through the waters, the rivers, and walk through the fire …
No matter what was happening around us and even in the midst of each storm He encouraged us through His church, gave us favor beyond belief, granted us grace upon grace, and lavished us with all we needed at just the right time. We learned to have the faith of a child, and we saw miracles take place.
Loaves and fishes (and $42K!)
We knew we needed to fundraise the entire $42K in adoption costs, and due to the expedited adoption process we had just months to do it. We also knew if God had set this in motion He would be faithful to provide. So we focused on the stories of the loaves and fishes and George Mueller–rejoicing over each dollar raised. Practically, having faith that moves mountains doesn’t make it any less painful or scary in those moments … the faith carries you through the anxiety. Each time we had an invoice due that we couldn’t pay the Lord would show up and bless us with a grant or donation. And each one of those was a beautiful display of hope and encouragement for us.
We cannot fully express in words the magnitude of gratefulness we feel for Lifesong, The Church at Brookhills and all the donors who made our grant possible. How can we possibly say thank you enough for the joy of a life redeemed, for a future of untold value, for the missing piece of our family being found?
Meeting our daughter, holding her, telling her about our Jesus that loves her so much He brought hundreds of people together to work to bring her half way around the globe, seeing her bloom with love and care … priceless!
Simply put, each of you is an answer to many years of desperate prayer–when we think of how God FULLY FUNDED our entire adoption we don’t see dollars. We see and feel open hearts acting in love, being obedient to take care of the orphans, building a forever family and setting the seeds for a future serving God.
Meet Edie Ruth
Our daughter, Edie Ruth is an incredible, brave, beautiful little 5-year-old girl full of joy! She is perfect for our family and absolutely the missing piece of our puzzle. We are beyond blessed, honored, and giddy at times to be chosen as her parents. The transition home with her 2 big brothers has been seamless. While it is challenging at times, we KNOW we have been divinely equipped to be vessels of His Holy Spirit for this time and these precious souls. What began for us, through the heartbreak of infertility, as a natural next step to grow our family and fulfill the desires of our hearts has blossomed into a passion for the Orphan and the ministry of our lives.
Through this adoption we saw we were a part of something much bigger than growing our family. God is weaving us all together, blending our stories with His for generations to come. He is reaching into hearts in miraculous ways wrecking us in beautiful ways. He is using brokenness to show His Glory and display His love. We are becoming the image bearers He designed us to be and we are in love with what He is doing!
“Our Father has given us a life we never could have imagined. He has given us a legacy of love that began on a wooden cross, and the gift of grace that spurs us on to be more for Him. We are forever grateful for your partnership with our family.”
Paul and Darlena, we rejoice with you over God’s abundant provision for your family! Thank you for standing open-handed with the events and resources in your life. We are thrilled God has seen fit to place Patrick, George, and Edie Ruth in your care! We will continue to pray for you as you parent these precious children for God’s glory.
Be God’s answer to a family’s prayer.
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