We are adopting! And wow, what a journey it has been getting to this point!
Patrick and I first felt called to adopt in late 2020, ultimately because of the way in which Christ loves us by making us His children through adoption. The Westminister Confession says that to be adopted is to receive God’s name and to have access to God’s throne, His pity, His protection, His provision, and His promise to never abandon us. Adoption in this life is only a bittersweet reflection of those mercies that God offers to us through His Son, but we are thankful for the opportunity to mirror the Gospel in this way.
In 2020, we started the process, picked an agency, completed all the training and paperwork, began fundraising, finished our home study, and were ready to match with a family. But the Lord had other plans, and instead of matching with a family, we were blessed with our beautiful son Whittaker in February 2022 and quickly departed for a cross-country move to Texas. Since our move, we have excitedly sought to expand our family. I became pregnant in February 2023, but the Lord, in His sovereign will, had planned for our sweet baby to pass away just days after learning of his existence. We were crushed, and have spent a lot of time grieving and clinging to the promises of God, and trust that we will meet that baby in eternity.
Nevertheless, we continued to long for a baby, and the Lord has not allowed those desires to be fulfilled at this time. Ultimately, this led us to the decision to “do the next thing.” The Lord placed this desire for adoption on our hearts early into our marriage and we are so excited to see what He does with it. We know that the Lord doesn’t call us to anything where He would leave us to our own devices. He will surely care, sustain, strengthen, and provide.
We are humbly asking for you, our friends and family, to partner with us on this journey. We are in need of two things in ample measure: prayer support and financial support. Adoption is a tense, emotional, and expensive process, but we are not going to let that discourage us. If you are able to donate, your gift goes towards agency fee expenses, birth mother needs, lawyers, travel, etc. God makes a way no matter what the circumstances are.
Our current plan is to focus on raising finances to fund the adoption. In August 2023, we are moving to Hawaii for a short 13 months as Patrick completes Physician Associate school through the Army. We are expecting to move again in October 2024 after he graduates. Typically, you have to restart the home study process at each new location. We trust that God will make His intentions known to us, whether that is to complete a home study in Hawaii or delay that step until we move again. In the interim, we will continue to pray fervently for guidance and raise funds. If it is God’s will that we have another biological child in the meantime, we plan to continue with the adoption process.
Thank you so much for your unending love and support, and for walking this path with us.
“In love God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ…” Ephesians 1:5
