Someone once told me that adopting a child is the closest thing we can come to in understanding the great love our Heavenly Father has for us. We are adopted because we are His, imperfections and all . . .covering all cultures, races, ages, religions, physical differences, and pasts. We were made to be loved, and to love, regardless of anything else. We are all worthy of it. We were specifically designed for it, from conception.
When Joseph and I look at our beautiful children, we are amazed. Don't get me wrong, we have figured out "how" babies are made by now (ha ha). . .and one thing leads to another, and we're holding another little bundle of love. We always thought that we would have two children, three at the most. But a little voice kept us open to life, and the the realization of the value of life, increased with each child. And when you suffer a loss of a baby, at any gestation or age, you especially are reminded of how precious each life is. And life truly is out of our control . . .bringing it into the world, and losing it to the next.
It was just one year ago August when we lost our sweet baby girl, Adelyne. The loss was so heavy for our entire family, yet the light remained lit. Hope remained. Trust was intact. We both immediately brought up a discussion we had had over the course of several years, to open our hearts to adoption. The time felt right for both of us. We were confident in our decision, yet did not have the answers as to how we were going to make it happen. The answers came though.
We both felt strongly that China was where our child was waiting. We poured over files and photos, and I remember asking "how?". HOW can we reject any of these, and HOW do we choose? HOW will we know for certain? We already had one child with special needs, and we were well aware that we would not know the extent of an adoptive child's special needs until bringing him or her home. But then we saw his picture. We both knew. I know that sounds romanticized and maybe even cliche, but it's more than true. There were uncertainties in his file, and much was left up to the imagination to fill in the gaps, and understand his "special needs". Yet it was all okay. We were at peace. We were immediately pre-approved, and by the next week, we started up the fundraising engines. Support flew in from all directions. We were overcome with emotions, gratitude, and love. It was an emotional time for me.
Just 7 months after we found him, we brought him home.
Growing in faith means growing in trust. It means being okay to not have all the answers. Having Drew home has been nothing short of amazing. He is an incredible little guy, who fits perfectly in with our crazy bunch. He has his two year old brother's love of music, his five year old sister's independence, his eight year old brother's curiosity, his eleven old sister's full upper lip, his fifteen year old brother's gift of gab, his 17 year old sister's love of art, his mommy's love to get-up-and-go, and his daddy's gift of being always willing to help. We did not choose Drew, he was chosen for us. He was always in the plan . . .
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