Expecting More

Plates to remind us our family is still growing.

As our littlest one has almost reached her first birthday, I am reminded of the two children we plan to adopt. God put adoption on my heart the same night He revealed to me that we would have children of our own. When I shared the news with Grant, it became his heart's desire to adopt too.  But first, can you believe it, we had to have children of our own and so far that had been not so easy. Then a little over a year later we welcomed our first daughter. Now it's been almost 10 years, 11 total if you count when we found out we would have children and adopt others!

God put it on Grant's heart to set out plates once a week when we all share a meal to remind us to pray for the children that will become part of our family. We chose to do it this week on Saturday: Pancakes & Bacon Morning. It was amazing how eager the children were to set those places.  They had so many questions, some really silly (in the eyes of adults) and some profound about adoption and the changes to our current family that adopting would entail. We don't know when they'll come into our life. Two years, ten years? But the process has started in our hearts and the rest is to come.

Left to right: Grant, cupcake ninja, nature girl, baby-behind-the-flowers, my seat, Bubba, and two plates waiting! See our table is just waiting to be full.

I read an astounding stat the other day. To paraphrase it: if every American church congregation had just one family willing to adopt one child, all the legally free children in the foster system in the US would have forever homes. Even if the stat was debatable.  I thought, "what an incredible impact God's family could have on the fatherless." We have friends that have adopted three times. We have other friends working on adopting 2nd and 3rd times. We have rejoiced in domestic and international adoptions and we don't know which kind God has in store for us. We have witnessed the great financial sacrifices families have made to follow God's leading in adoption and realized He may ask that of us too.  We are at the beginning and it's time to get schooled on all the hoops, home studies, travelling, court dates, etc that will be a part of our adoptions. If something reminds you that we plan to adopt, please take that moment of awareness to say a prayer for us: May He give us wisdom and lead our hearts.