Our Adoption Story

As we continually post updates on our adoption process, there may be some who haven't heard the whole story on how we began this journey. So here's a little history on how the Lord has written our story...

Jeremy and I have been talking about adoption for a long time. It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment at which the desire began, but rather it grew slowly through little conversations and situations here and there until we found ourselves talking very seriously about when and how we would adopt. Looking back, we know that God planted those seeds long, long ago and over the course of time, He used circumstances and experiences in our lives to prepare us for His calling.

After we had committed ourselves to adoption, we had a small problem...literally. Our house was too small for more kids. So, for us, the path to one process took us through another process--an addition to our house. That is a story all it's own, but we're done now, so I'll leave it at that!

So last April, Jeremy & I were sitting on the couch talking about how, now that the addition was wrapping up, it was time to start looking into our options for an adoption. We had a few ideas about which agency we might use, and we had decided that we would adopt a younger child through a domestic adoption; we knew that there was no way we could afford an international adoption! I think God listens for us to make statements like that and then uses it as an opportunity to display His amazing power & ability to do the impossible!

That particular conversation ended with our decision to pray specifically and look for God to lead us to the starting point, and within 2 weeks, Israel showed up at our door...

My sister Jamie and her husband Ben used an agency here in Southern California to do their homestudy for their second adoption. This agency does a program called Welcome Home where they bring a group of orphans here from another country for “vacation.” Of course, the whole point is really to find families for these kids, but the kids are just meant to understand it as a fun trip. So in May 2007, my sister and her family agreed to be a host family for a little boy from Guatemala. Although they were originally supposed to host a different boy, his Visa fell through at the last minute, and so Israel came to their house instead.

For more than a week, I had conversations with Jamie on the phone, listening as she told me, “There is just something special about this kid!” She would tell me stories about fun experiences he was having and I caught myself one time as I thought, “He will have so many stories to tell when he goes back home! What will his family think?!” The sudden realization that he had no family to share his experiences with stuck in my heart. As we talked throughout the first part of his time here, my thoughts began to change from “I hope a family is found for him, but I know this isn’t what God has for us,” to “Lord, are you trying to show me something?” I began to pray, and I shared my thoughts with my sister, but I didn’t say anything to Jeremy about it. If God was going to change our plans, I wanted Him to put it on Jeremy’s heart without any help from me.

Finally, two weeks into Israel’s trip, we were able to have my sister’s family over for dinner so we could meet this little guy we had been hearing so much about. Jeremy still didn’t know anything about the thoughts God had been putting on my heart, but I was praying that God would reveal His plan for us. That night we had dinner, and I watched carefully for any reaction from Jeremy. Nothing. I was a little confused, but I told my sister the next day, “Jeremy didn’t say anything one way or another. I guess this isn’t the direction God has for us.” Later that afternoon, though, Jeremy came home from work and the girls were still napping. It was strange for us to have an opportunity to have an actual conversation in the middle of the afternoon, and as we sat and chatted about the day, Israel’s name came up. I was telling Jeremy something Israel had said or done at my sister’s house, and Jeremy looked at me and said, “You know, I would be open to adopting him, but I know that’s an idea you may have a hard time with.”

I wish there was a photographer in the room to capture what my face must have looked like when he said that! I was floored! I told him that I had been thinking about the possibility of adopting him too, but that I thought he wouldn’t be open to the idea. So there we sat, looking at each other in astonishment, with thoughts swimming through our minds of the magnitude of the decision before us. We talked a lot more, and decided to pray and seek for clarification from God as to what we should do. Over the next few days, we prayed and talked a lot, wanting to be certain that this was the child God had chosen for our family. We only shared what was going on with a very few people

I remember driving by myself to drop off food at our church’s Homeless Ministry, praying and listening to a Christian radio station, hoping that the Lord would use the car speakers to give me direction. As I walked in, dropped off the food, and walked back out, I was hoping that someone would somehow see the confusion in my mind and ask me about it so I could unburden my heart. I said hi to a few people and started towards my car, a little disappointed, when one of the sweetest, most compassionate people I know came after me. I had already said hi to her and continued on, but she was coming toward me saying, “Kristy, I wanted to ask you, how are you? How can I be praying for you?” The question I had been waiting for! I shared with her a little, and she agreed to pray along with us, and I walked to my car thanking God for sending her to talk to me at the exact moment I needed her.

As I drove home, I kept listening to the radio, waiting for more clarification. I listened intently to the pastor’s moment that plays between songs, and got nothing. The verse of the day? It didn’t really apply. Then, as I pulled into my driveway, a Steven Curtis Chapman song came on…

My heart is racing, and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge. I know there’s no turning back once my feet have left the ledge.
And in the rush I hear a voice that’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go!

I’m diving in, I’m going deep. In over my head, I want to be.
Caught in the rush, lost in the flow,in over my head, I want to go.
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive,
So sink or swim, I’m diving in!

I laughed to myself as I got out of the car. “Ok, Lord. I’m listening.”

The next day was Friday. We had met Israel only two days before. Jeremy was certain that this was God’s will for us, but I was still searching for clarity. We stood in the garage that afternoon, talking. Ok, Jeremy was talking. I was mostly crying. I just wanted to be certain, with no doubts, that this was the path God had chosen for us. I was afraid that if we made a wrong choice, we would bring heartache and frustration on ourselves and our girls. Jeremy asked me, “What are you waiting for? A postcard from God?” Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted…then I would know for sure. I was completely agitated at that point. I couldn’t think straight or sit still or concentrate on anything else. That’s when I knew I had to sit down with my Bible and do some listening.

As I was sitting there with my Bible in my lap, the phone rang. It was my sister, calling to offer me some encouragement. She said, “I thought it might help you if I read you some of my journals when we were making our decision to adopt Cameron.” Again, God sent me an encourager at exactly the right time. She read me some of the questions that she had asked herself, and they were nearly identical to mine. Then she shared some Bible passages she thought might help, and left me to my searching. At her recommendation, I started in Exodus where God calls Moses to be the one to deliver Israel out of Egypt. Moses questions God and doubts himself. I like Moses. I can relate to Moses. Then I went to Isaiah, one of my favorite books, and read verse after verse that applied.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (6:8)

“If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (7:9)

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.” (26:3-4)

“When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.” (29:23)

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (30:21)

“I took you from the ends of the earth. From its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (41:9-10)

And finally, the Lord brought me along to Isaiah 44:1-5, where I found the postcard I had been waiting for:

But now, listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says—He who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord’; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s’ and will take the name Israel.”

From that point forward, I have been certain that Israel was chosen by God to be our son. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord will complete this journey as He began it—by His power and through the guidance of His Spirit. And, by His grace, we will complete this journey as we began it—in the faith that comes from prayer, the searching of His word, and the encouragement of our brothers and sisters, adopted, like us, into the family of believers.