Today our blog has a new look, title, and focus. Since we began this blog, our lives have changed dramatically. We have begun a journey that has taken many twists and turns, a journey of adoption.
As many of you know, John and I struggled for many years to have more children. We are very blessed to have two amazing daughters. God has graciously blessed us by entrusting their lives to us. Often in the past I saw parenthood as a right and not a privilege. God corrected my attitude and created within me a thankfulness for all that I have been given. My children are a gift from God. I still longed for more children and prayed for years that the Lord would give me the desires of my heart. Then I prayed the Lord would change my desires to be what He desired.
As time passed, I was able to accept that our family was complete, but the desire never lifted. John and I talked about adoption, but he was not open to it. In the spring of 2009, I brought up the subject again. I asked John to pray about it and make sure he was seeking God's will and not his own, just to be open to the possibility. He said yes. I cannot tell you how that drew us closer together in our marriage.
In September of that same year, John read a book called Adopted for Life. As we were driving home one day he asked me if I knew what the book was about, and I said no. He said it was about adoption. He had picked up that book and couldn't put it down. He then said, "I have changed my mind. I want to adopt, and I want to adopt now!'
My first response was shock, then I started crying, then I started arguing with him! (Funny, what shock will do to you!) I brought up every reservation that he had. Every time his answer was, "I don't feel that way anymore." I was amazed! He also told me that he would really like to adopt a son, not because the girls were not enough for him, but that it would be wonderful to experience the joys a son brings.
God truly answers prayers. I had waited for 10 years to hear those words. Even more amazing God was answering the prayers of our daughters. Each of them had prayed periodically to have a baby brother, but interestingly they had renewed that prayer consistently for the last month. Each night when I prayed with them individually, they would each ask God to give them a baby brother. Neither of them knew that the other was praying for this. How wonderful that God would choose such a blessing to demonstrate to my girls how much He cares for His children.
So now as we continue on this journey, we will share it with you. Please lift us all up in prayer including our future children. That's right; I said CHILDREN!
