Do You have a Heart Reserved for Adoption?
Have you ever been at a point in your life where you looked back and said, “How the heck did I get here?” This happened in my life recently. Now it’s hard to think back to life before my husband, and I decided to adopt. Adoption is one of those things that grabs you by the hand and takes you for a ride. It is a messy, exciting, terrifying faith walk.After five years married (8 years together), my husband and I found ourselves plagued with the question, “Why don’t we have kids?” At the time, we were 28 and 36, and I could see why this seemed to be a pressing question.
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If we weren’t asking ourselves this question, I could promise you everyone else in our lives was asking, and it led us to contemplate the question. I mean, honestly, it just wasn’t on our hearts to have biological children, at least at that moment.My husband and I love kids. I was a pediatric nurse. We prided ourselves as favorite aunts and uncles. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong with us or maybe even our hearts. It was then my husband, and I started seeking God about this question.
I mean, it's biblical, right?
Genesis 1:28 tells us to “Be fruitful and multiply,” but why weren’t we yearning to “multiply.”Fast forward to 6 months later. We found ourselves on a mission trip to Central America in the slums of Alajuelita, Costa Rica, where God met us to confront us about our questions. In a moment's time, life as we knew it was about to change drastically because God was going to speak to me and my husband about a love He had created and preserved in our hearts, a love we weren’t even aware of yet. A love that was going to catch fire and make life as we knew it, a vapor.Simultaneously while my husband and I were in separate parts of this village, God revealed to us a precious secret. While my husband was holding a baby and while I was walking the community doing medical checks, God spoke a word that rocked our worlds. God stated so clearly;
“You don’t have the desire to have biological children because I have reserved that part in your heart for adoption.”
We spent the rest of the day playing soccer with dusty-haired children in the barrio and praying over people in the community and continued to let God solidify His word for us in our hearts, and He did.On May 15, 2015, our Dossier made it to Nicaragua, and 11 months later, we got the call we had been waiting on for a year and a half. We matched with a boy/girl sibling set 4 & 6. So we got on a plane and met the answer to our question we had two years earlier; “Why don’t we have kids?” Well, the answer is simple, really, because A & L’s adoption wasn’t ready until April 22nd, 2015.
But, when that day came, a family was made.
Sometimes God is prompting us to ask tough questions. So often, our fear of what His answer might look like keeps us from really seeking His will in our life. In the past three years, God has indeed revealed to me that the desires of my heart are, really and truly, His will for me. We can get so busy creating a life in our own ability but find ourselves so empty.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. - Proverbs 16:3
I challenge you today to ask that tough question that God is prompting in your heart. God’s plans are so much more extravagant than anything we can come up with on our own. When we surrender our plans fully to Him, the exchange is fulfillment and joy beyond measure. Adventure awaits you, and the adventure God has for you will fulfill you in a way you have never experienced.