The Rest of the Story...for now!

Hello, hello! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to finish this story...at least as much of the story that I can finish. I apologize for the length but there is so much happening right now! Let's get to it.

I left you when I was sitting down to do my Bible Study. If you haven't read the first part to this story, you may want to click here and then here.

Here we go.

The title of my assignment that day was "For Such a Time as This." I was quite intrigued and excited to see what the Lord was going to say. And as usual, he blew me away!

This is what I read (written by Beth Moore). "We can refuse to walk in obedience to God or cower in fear from our calling and He will undoubtedly still accomplish His agenda. As for us, however, we will pass up the fulfillment of our own entire life-purpose and we - and perhaps even "our father's family" - will miss a mighty work. Frighteningly, perhaps even a mighty deliverance. One of our biggest obstacles in our most important moments "for such a time as this" is the difficulty of the destiny - serving task." (emphasis mine).

Earlier that day, my dad had called me to tell me he just watched a segment on FOX news talking about adoption of WAITING CHILDREN out of foster care (which is free, or very low cost, by the way.) My dad is the president of an orphan care ministry and told me that I needed to look into this because this could affect more than just our family, maybe this is something the ministry needed to become more involved in and He asked me to see what I could find out about it.

So later, when I read "even our father's family..." I was like "wow".

And, I continued reading. "None of our purposes will be fulfilled easily. All of them will require the most difficult decisions we think we can make. Decisions that we may feel will practically kill us. Then God does something miraculous and we become something we're not. That's when "who knows" becomes "I know."

Okay, okay, okay. I have to rewind a bit again.

The day before I called our social worker (from our local agency) and explained to her how God had been changing our hearts and wanted to ask her several questions about adopting waiting children out of foster care.

When she asked me if I was thinking about a child younger than Hudson. "Oh no, not necessarily" I told her. "Is that even possible?" To which she replied, "Who are you??" (Our SW has been with us since we first started the international adoption process to get Hudson more than 3 years ago. So she knows me well!)

"Actually, I have had in mind a little 6 year old African American girl. This is kind of silly but do you know of a 6 year old AA girl who needs a family??" (The night after God reminded me "It's not about you," I just started thinking of a 6 year old little girl, in fact Hudson woke up in the middle of the night and she came to mind immediately - which is why I asked our SW the question.)

Again, she asked "WHO are you??!" I just laughed and told her, "It's not me, it's God."

So back to what I was reading. Remember what Beth wrote, "Then God does something miraculous and we become something we're not. That's when "who knows" becomes "I know."

Friends, God has done some major heart changing over here. By this point, Clint and I both felt certain that God was steering us in a different direction than we originally thought.

We are committing to walk in obedience and follow Him every step of the way. So, what does this means for us now?

It means we have talked to our agency (Lifeline Children's Services) asking them to put our profile on hold. We are stepping out in faith - closing a door, in a very real sense to the possibility of adopting an infant and are now pursuing adoption of waiting children.

(Waiting Children are those who are "legally free" - meaning they are currently available for adoption - 129,000 children in the U.S. - 129,000 children who have NO one to call Mommy and Daddy).

Saturday, November 21st.

Up until this point, I hadn't really looked online at pictures of waiting kids. In fact, I didn't quite know where to start. But on that Saturday, after waking up from a nap, I decided to do a little searching. Earlier that day Clint and I discussed the possibility of adopting a sibling group.

The conversation went like this.

Me: "Clint would you ever consider adopting a sibling group?"

Clint: "I think so. Sure."

Me: "I think so too.... But not more than 3, right?? I really don't want to drive a big van!" (ahem)

Sooo, with that conversation in mind, I entered into the search box. Max. # of kids: 3

And with the little 6 year old girl in mind, I entered: Max age of child: 6

Then, I started looking at pictures and reading profiles. It was then that I saw an African American sibling group of 3.

6 year old Girl
5 year old Boy
4 year old Girl

And, friends - I haven't been able to stop thinking about them!! As I read their profile, I kept thinking, they seem like MY kids.

I called Clint, who was out on an errand and said I found kids on the Internet. He said, "Did you discipline them?"

Realizing he thought our kids had gotten on the computer, I laughed and said, "No, I found KIDS on the Internet.

"Oh I thought you found OUR kids," he said.

"Maybe I did." I told him.

"They are 6, 5, and 4." To which he said, "Oh dear...." But after seeing them, he said, "I see why you're thinking this."

AND NOW...

Clint and I both feel peaceful and excited to pursue adopting these kids. We have taken initial steps - like inquiring about them but haven't heard anything yet.

We realize that this is a very big deal. We realize that these kids have been through a lot and it would likely be a difficult transition BUT we also realize that IT IS NOT ABOUT US. And, that as long as we follow where the Lord is leading, we don't need to fear.

We are trusting Him. We are following Him. Just walking through the doors that open in front of us. If He leads us another way, we'll change our course. But for now - I am hopeful, prayerful, and really excited about the possibility of these kids being ours. And that my friends, is not me. It's the work of God in my heart!

And our kids are hopeful too. They understand that this means we would not be getting a baby and they want these kids to be ours.

So, the adventure continues. I have no CLUE what's ahead, but I do KNOW the One who does and I have total confidence in Him!! Please pray with us and for these three kiddos who I have quite simply fallen in love with.

Would you pray that they would be protected physically, emotionally, mentally. That the Lord would prepare them for their forever family. That they would be adopted into a loving Christian family....hopefully ours.

This is my prayer!

Thanks friends! I love you all!