For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15)
I know I have talked on
this blog about adoption in the past. Adoption is a beautiful way to look at our relationship with the Father. If we are one of His children we have been adopted into His family through the work of Christ on the cross. But I want to turn to a real adoption story that took place not too long ago with my brother-in-law and sister. They had the privilege to adopt a beautiful baby girl named Landry. Here is a short glimpse of the ups and downs of adoption from a human standpoint but also some assuring truth about our sovereign God.
"I'm Krista...my husband Jason and I have 4 children. We started our adoption process last October. For us, just starting the process was a huge leap of faith. As we looked into adoption and realized the cost, we were discouraged. Then as we began to talk with many of our friends they encouraged us to trust that the Lord would provide the money.
We finished our paperwork and started our interview process in mid-December (2008). A lady began to share with me that her aunt and uncle were raising their Great Grandchild and that they knew the best thing for her was to put her up for adoption. She continued to share that the Lord had put our family on her heart several months earlier. I usually talk these kinds of things over with the hubby, but this time I said 'yes' without running it by him!!
Just ten days later we received a call that the Great Grandparents wanted to meet us and that the mom had signed the papers necessary to move forward with the adoption...well two days later we met Landry and her Great Grandparents. As I looked at them and saw how deeply they loved her I was heartbroken. I wanted her for my own, but I honestly prayed 'Lord, why could they not be 10 years younger.' After they left we knew we had 8 days left to sit and wait. In Arkansas a birth mother has 10 days to change her mind. So...that's what we did, waited.
Friday, January 30th was day 10. We woke up that morning and knew we made it. We were so excited!! The Lord had been extremely gracious to us for those 10 days. They honestly went by very quickly. The kids were doing school and I was making lunch and I turned around to see my husband standing in my kitchen. I asked him what was wrong and he just shook his head. Landry's mom had changed her mind, and the adoption was off! As I began to process I quickly began to think about the Sovereignty of God. I knew and believed that God had a purpose and a plan. I won't say that we didn't shed any tears, because we did, but I will say that we were at peace because we knew that God was in control. '
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be His name, He gives and takes away, blessed be His name.'I don't think Jason or I slept much that night, but I knew that I needed to be ready for the next day. Allissa [my daughter] was playing and I was were coach. So, I had ten, 10 year olds counting on me. After getting to the gym Jason decided to call and check on the Great Grandparents. They were extremely upset and Jason wanted to check and see how they were holding up. As I was sitting there watching some of the other girls play, Jason walked back into the gym and sat down next to me. He said her mom had changed her mind again and wanted us to have her! Well, I could no longer hold in any of my emotions. I just sat there and cried. What was the Lord doing? What was He trying to teach me? What was He trying to teach our family?
From that day until March 6th, when Landry arrived in our home, all we could do is trust that the Lord would sustain us. We knew that the Bible said, 'He would never leave us or forsake us', and for those 5 weeks all we could do was rest in that."
For the complete story
click here.
Grace upon grace,
JRL (Landry's uncle)
Orphan Sunday, November 8, to Unite Christians Around the World
Posts
