But first I have to say how very excited I am that this is where the Lord has led me!  I am thrilled at the opportunity to be able to help families grow through adoption!  I truly feel like this is my “thing”, my “calling” in life, to bring awareness to and educate people about adoption!

My husband, Shawn, and I had 3 biological children, but had always desired to adopt, and after reading James 1:27, we knew it was something we had to do.  How better to take care of an orphan than to bring them into your family?  We anticipated a fairly quick journey to our child.  We were somewhat open; we knew not to expect a child with a perfect background, we were willing to consider various health issues, and we were open to race.  The only thing we were specific about was gender, and we even presented on a few gender unknowns.    However the Lord had different plans for us, more specifically me.  I tend to be a very organized person, a planner, and the Lord used this to teach me that things don’t always happen according to our time.  It took 10 months after our home study was done and after we had signed on with FAC to have our baby in our arms.  In that time our profile was shown to countless birth moms, and every time the answer was the same, it’s just not the right baby for you.  We also had 2 failed situations.  In one we had been chosen by the birth mom, talked to her several times, got a call that our birth mom was in labor, and was making plans to go to the hospital, when the baby was still born.  That was a difficult time, I felt the loss, and grieved for our birth mom.  The second was a situation where we were at the hospital with a baby, and had to choose to walk away.  (Absolutely the hardest thing I have EVER had to do!!!)  Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”  God didn’t say the road to adoption would be easy, he just commanded us to do it.

I now see why the Lord didn’t give us an easy road to adoption.  Along the way I was discouraged, but God used my experience to grow my passion for adoption and my desire to help orphans.  I tend to be more of an introvert, but this is one thing I can’t help but be vocal about, and am grateful to now have a place to put my energy and conviction for adoption to use!  I look forward to getting to know the FAC community better, and helping new families grow through adoption.

Jessica

Uncategorized | Posted by admin | No Comments