Guest post from Christen Price (Adoptive Mom & Lifesong Matching Grant Recipient)

Like many families, adoption was something my husband and I always talked about in our marriage but never knew exactly when the time would be right. Having three children, two jobs, and already busy schedules, we often pushed the thought of adoption to the “one-day” conversation. We didn’t know if we could actually raise another child or afford to grow our family. Adoption was all about what worked for us and our plans.

But God.

God’s promises are bigger than our plans.

One huge lesson of love that God began to teach my husband and me is that adoption is bigger than our own needs and plans. With time, God began to open our eyes to His call for us to love. Once we began to look at adoption through the needs of a newborn child and his birth parents, we couldn’t stop ourselves from committing.

Even though the thought of adding one more child to our already full family seemed a little crazy, we began to believe:

Our family serves a God who is able to provide us with abundantly more time, energy, love, and resources than anything we could ever ask or imagine.

God didn’t give us a map of what our adoption was going to look like. But we trusted in His promises over our plans every step of the way. God provided for us through mighty prayer texts from friends in the middle of the night. He provided for us when we were chosen for a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans, and monetary gifts arrived in our family’s account from friends and from people we haven’t seen in years. God provided for us in ways we could never have planned or imagined.

Adoption can easily cause a family to be anxious.

The process is full of so many unknown factors. But adoption can also lead your family on a path to peace because it has the power to teach you to trust in God’s promises over your plans. Let God be in control of your finances, your family, and your future. He will use adoption to teach you that love is bigger than your own needs.

Adoption reminds you that love is patient. It is about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Love is making hard choices, being brave, and admitting that we are not in control. Give your plans to Him and watch Him work in His wonderful and marvelous ways.

The day we held our son in our arms, we were not the same people that we were before we began the adoption process. Our family has changed, and we better understand that love is sacrificial and kind and generous. Our son is adopted, but so are we. And each day, we lean on God’s promises instead of our own plans as we navigate life as a family of six. We don’t have it all figured out, but that’s okay. We trust that…

“He will strengthen us with power through His Spirit…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:16-19 NIV)

How grateful are we to be filled by the fullness of God’s promises over our own plans.

Christen and Raleigh Price are the proud parents of four children and call the countryside of Alabama home. Since their family has personally received the gift of love through adoption, they desire to help other families as they commit to their own adoption journey. With Raleigh’s background in architecture and design and Christen’s background in writing and photography, they have begun to work with families on the creation of their adoption profile books.

If you’re considering adoption…

we’re here to help. Here at Lifesong, we’re thankful to be a tool in God’s hand used to help fund adoptions! We provide adoption financial assistance so families can overcome the financial hurdles of adoption.

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