I am so thankful to finally be able to share that we are adopting! We began this process back in January by filing out an application and following that up with some additional paperwork and references. Just this week our adoption agency approved our family to move forward with a home study and put us on their waiting list. We are so thrilled to be taking these small steps toward meeting our next child. I know that sometimes adoption can raise many questions, so I'll try to answer a few common ones here.
What made us want to adopt in the first place? Many things. After Hugh and I were first married, we began learning more about adoption through a myriad of sources. One of the couples we really admired was just finalizing their adoption of a young boy from Guatemala. One of the guest speakers who our church brought in was pro-adoption and convinced us that adoption ought to be close to every Christian's heart: because God cares for the orphan and widow and even more so every Christian has been adopted into God’s family through Christ. After he spoke, we read his book (Adopted for Life by Russell Moore) and understood more about the way God adopts us into his family as sons because of Jesus' atonement for our sins. This reconciliation is so amazing that God even considers us co-heirs with Christ! Such teaching was eye opening for me. Hugh and I decided shortly thereafter that we would pursue adoption at some point.
But why now? Why not just have some more children biologically? Well, the Lord continued to keep adoption in front of us through various means (such as other friends adopting, reading about it in the Scriptures, being reminded of it through emails from organizations that are pro-life, and hearing in the news about the growing atrocities of the abortion industry). After Alaythia was born, we knew we wanted to continue growing our family. Although we would certainly like to have more biological children in the future (should the Lord allow us to), we felt led to consider adoption, specifically as a way to care for orphans, to serve as a shadow of God's own adoption of us, and to take action to help birth mothers (and fathers) who are so courageously choosing life. We want to stand by others who are fighting the culture of death by affirming that all life is valuable because it is made in the image of God.
What type of child are we hoping to adopt? We have decided to adopt an infant from the United States. Our agency typically works with young babies (newborn to a few months old), and we have specified that we would like our next child to be younger than Alaythia (to avoid disrupting the birth order).
How will we be matched with a baby? Our adoption agency matches adoptive families with children by allowing the birth parents to choose based on their preferences for the child.
How much longer will we have to wait? We have at least another few months while we finish our homestudy, but it could also take up to 2-4 years.
What do our other kids think about adopting? Enoch is really excited! There was some confusion for him at first about why the baby wasn't going to be in my belly (since that's where his sisters both came from), but as these questions come up, we talk through them. The girls don't fully understand that we will have a new baby soon, but I'm sure they'll be ready to help feed the baby bottles and help with diapers because they are both growing in their motherly instincts.
Do we know anyone else who has adopted? Yes! Actually, quite a few people we know have adopted. One of Hugh's aunts adopted 30+ years ago; some good friends from Arkansas adopted 6 years ago; two sets of friends from our church just adopted in the past 2 years; and one other friend just finalized her adoption last week. The Lord has also blessed us to know a handful of young adults who were adopted as children, which has been very sweet as well.
How did we choose our adoption agency? After we decided to adopt domestically, we began looking for local agencies. There were only a few within our area (which I consider to be a 3 hour drive). They all came with good recommendations; however, one stood out in the way they cared for birth mothers. Their staff was large and well-trained; they seemed to be available to birth mothers all throughout pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and beyond; and they offered a unique service: a home for birth mothers who needed a place to stay. For Hugh and I, this last feature was what really sealed the deal because we have had great experiences with people opening up their homes and inviting others in. There seems to be something quite redemptive and life-altering about this, especially for those in a hard place. Knowing that our agency could provide not only shelter and food to a birth mother in need, but also a home with a family and shared life experiences made us feel confident in our choice of agency.
Please join us in praying through this adoption journey.
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