There is no doubt in my mind. God told us to adopt. We listened and answered this calling. Then, and only then, did we get pregnant.
Yes, I feel like God waited for us to follow His calling before He blessed us with another pregnancy. Sorta like when He asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and at the last second he provided a replacement. Only different. Clear as mud, right? Trust me, it makes sense in my head.
I don't boast to know the thoughts or ways of God. Far from it. Most days the more I think I learn, the less I understand. But I know this...
His calling for us to adopt did not change just because I got pregnant. No, we're still called.
And let's get hypothetical for a moment, shall we....
If I had been able to get pregnant easily, I probably would have kept having babies one after another. Our "someday we'd like to adopt" attitude would still probably be in the "someday" category. Who knows if we'd ever actually get around to adopting if we could pop out babies easily. Our struggles with fertility brought adoption to the forefront. I believe God used our struggle with fertility to bring us to the point where we were ready to say "YES" to adoption.
Because He lavished His grace on us, He blessed us with a pregnancy after we said "Yes." Now, does that mean everyone should say "yes" to adoption in hopes of getting pregnant...NO! Does that mean everyone who says "yes" to adoption will get pregnant...NO! Remember, His ways are not our ways and I totally don't get it.
We also believe that this pregnancy is all part of God's timing to get us to the exact place on the list to be matched up with the Ethiopian child He has already chosen for us. Who knows...our Ethiopian baby may not even be conceived yet! How's that for some blow your mind thoughts?
We may sound crazy to some to be adopting and pregnant, but I don't care. I'm crazy in love with Jesus and I'll follow him to Africa and back with a baby in tow because he told me to.
Christina
Monday 6th of July 2015
I started to cry reading this... I felt like I was reading my own life currently!! We had always said we would love to adopt eventually. We now have two boys, and had been trying for a year and a half with miscarriages and multiple meds. And finally we just felt like the Lord had closed my womb and said... remember that yes you put on the table for adoption? Although it was a bit bittersweet, we took our yes and dove right into adoption. A little over a month later, our home study complete and officially acrive... we found out we were pregnant. We prayed seeking the Lord what He wanted us to do... and clear as day we felt the Lord confirm we were to continue with the adoption! We were and are thrilled! Some family and friends have had a hard time with our decision and I have found that our situation is a bit more rare than I had thought. This post is so super encouraging!!!! I love how the Lord led me to this post! Looking forward to reading more of your story!!! Thank you for posting!!!
Christina
Random Thoughts on a Summer Day… | Happy Brown House
Tuesday 7th of June 2011
[...] He didn’t quite understand why we would continue. I thought about sending him the link to my Adoption FAQ #4 post. He filled my paperwork out, but you could tell he thought I was a weirdo. Oh well, I’m [...]
Desi Brown
Saturday 5th of March 2011
What agency are you using? We got pregnant in the process of adopting and had to wait and start all over again.
Sara
Saturday 5th of March 2011
We're using Bethany Christian Services. They have a local office in our town which we love. It saves us on having to mail things and we can pop in whenever we have a question. They've been really great about our pregnancy. They couldn't be happier for us! Their policy is that we have to wait until the baby is atleast 6 months old before we can introduce a new member into the family. With the timing of everything, most likely we won't run into a problem. We can pause if we need to to meet this requirement.
Heather Arbuckle
Tuesday 1st of March 2011
I just love this post! My husband have 3 biological children and are being called to adoption. Not everyone in our midst understands our desire to follow after God in this task, but we know what we know...and that is that God wants to expand our family through adoption. Thanks for sharing your heart...it made my heart smile today.
Sara
Tuesday 1st of March 2011
So glad it meant something to you Heather! God will honor your "radical obedience" to His calling. Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your heart with me today...that makes me smile!
Eileen Jennings
Sunday 27th of February 2011
When we make the choice to follow our Lord and His whisperings in our heart, we will be thought of as crazy. In this day when the remnant seems to be growing smaller, God will demand a great deal out of them. Like you mentioned, Abraham and the test God placed before him. Many times, we are tested to prove our faith. This life on earth is about proving us, not God, because He already did that with creation and the cross. In the years of walking with Christ, the stories being told from those who desire to please God alone has astonished on lookers and always will. Like in the account of Pilgrim’s Progress, we keep walking towards our eternal reward keeping our eyes on it. The blessings here are just a bonus to help us remember His grace. We make request of God not because of our righteousness but because of His grace. God bless you and yours and keep walking the narrow path. Mrs. J.