How the Journey Began

We were asked how this journey to Jenny began.  It began on March 1, 2015.  That was the day our biological daughter, Vivien, was born. 

Until that day, orphans and adoption were abstract thoughts for us.  Something that movies and memoirs were about.  Something that people who couldn't have children did.  It wasn’t something that was real for us.  On that icy March afternoon when our daughter was born, all of that changed for us. 

Every night as we rocked Vivien to sleep and laid her in her crib, our hearts would break for children around the world who did not know this love.  Something inside of us – the Holy Spirit – opened our eyes and we began to see the gross injustice done to the innocent and most vulnerable among us.  And what started as a tiny spark grew and grew.  Even without us realizing it.  People would begin to ask, as they often do, “When are you going to have another?” Much to their surprise and ours, our automatic response became, “Well, if we do, we’ll probably adopt.”  What?  Where was this coming from?

Church friends who had adopted or fostered began to come out of the woodwork and share their experiences.  But what could we do?  The possibilities seemed endless and overwhelming.  Foster or adopt?  Domestic or International?  Part of me even wanted to stand on the steps of an abortion clinic and hold a sign that said “Give us the chance to love your baby”.  (Part of me still wants to do this). 

Did you know that November is National Adoption Awareness Month?  Neither did we.  Until 2016.  That’s when our November issue of Focus on the Family’s Citizen Magazine came in the mail and I read this article.  Actually, I cried my way through most of the article and passed the tear-stained pages to my husband.  I left the magazine on our kitchen island as a reminder that we needed to do something.  As Christians, as part of the church, it is our responsibility to care for the innocent and most vulnerable among us.  But what could we do?

That magazine stayed on my kitchen counter for over a month.  But then God prompted and prodded.  We finally visited Reece's Rainbow, and like the author of the article in that issue of Citizen Magazine, we cried and prayed as we scrolled through pages and pages of children who needed to be loved.   We ultimately chose ten children to which we wanted to donate toward the cost of their adoptions.

But, in scrolling through the children, one stood out.   She got stuck in our heads and our hearts.  Little Jenny.  We couldn’t stop thinking about her.  And now we know why.  God.  God placed her there.  God, in his perfect wisdom and timing and ordinance, had chosen us for this journey.  Before we even knew it, God’s plan was working.  Wheels were spinning.  And our roller-coaster ride toward adoption was just beginning.