Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Lifeline!

I have a lot of conversations about adoption. Its a pretty natural thing to happen - especially given that Olivia is almost always at my side calling me Mommy and, well, doesn't look like me.

 

Sometimes the conversations are very much "surface level" and go something like this:

"Oh, did you adopt her? She is so lucky."

To which I quickly respond, "We are both very blessed."

And we are!

Other times conversations are able to go deeper. I'm able to share a bit more of my heart, how Olivia and I came to be family, and what it has meant to both of us.

Contrary to what many in world want to say, adoption isn't about going and rescuing a child. Adoption is about growing a family through love (and a lot of hard work). We are able to love and bring others into our families, because God first loved us and through His son, Jesus, brought us into His family. Jesus did the work. He died on the cross for our sins, so that we could say "YES!" and be welcomed into His family. A family built on love.

I've always dreamed of being a mom. Ever since I was a little girl I had a dream of what my house would look like, what my husband would be like, and what my kids would look like. For the longest of times (in my opinion), that wasn't part of God's plan. I was 41, single, never married, and no husband or child on the horizon. Our are not always His plans and His timing doesn't always match up with our own. But in June of 2012, I got a glimpse into the plans that were in store for me.

I came home from China and called a dear friend of mine. I knew if there was any adoption question to be asked and answered, she was the right person to talk to. Not only was she one of the only good friends I had who had adopted, but she had done it SIX TIMES! In my mind, that made her an expert.

We met at Chick-fil-a and our conversation started something like this:

Me: "So, lets pretend for a moment that I was going to adopt. How does that work? What does this look like?" (I'm a very process kind of person)

Her: "YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!! When I saw the picture of you and Olivia, I wondered if you were going to call me before I called you! SO, here's who you need to call. (She pulled out her phone.) Call Karla. She and Lifeline are A-MAZ-ING!  We used them for our most recent adoption and I wish that we had used them to bring home all of our kiddos!"

(She then proceeded to map out virtually every step of the process so that I could begin to pretend to understand what it would look like.)

Some might call me naïve for picking up the phone the next day and calling Karla without ever looking into another agency. I call it providential. My friend is a woman of amazing faith and has lived a long time in the adoption world. If she said Lifeline was who I must work with, then that was who I was going to work with if they'd have me.

The faith I put in my friend and then in Lifeline, were not misplaced.

From my first conversation with Karla, I knew that this was person and agency with whom I was supposed to partner to bring Olivia home.

Olivia and I were not matched off of the shared or partnership lists. We first met before either of us was "paper-ready." Throughout the entire process, Lifeline repeatedly told me, "We cannot make any promises that you and Olivia will be able to be matched. Are you sure that you want to proceed? If you do, know that we will be praying with and for you and will do everything that we can." "Yes. I am sure." "Ok. Let's do it,"

As we crossed through each gate, each "milestone" in the adoption journey, we had this same conversation. They wanted to make sure I knew that there was always a risk that China would say "no." My heart knew that Olivia was my daughter, even if nobody of any official capacity did. And as long as my heart said, "Yes!" Lifeline and it's amazing team was right there with me, working and praying until on that amazing day, March 11, eight months after starting, China said, "Yes!".

We are quickly approaching our one year anniversary as a family. I will never be able to adequately express the fullness of my heart. Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you, Lifeline! I have been blessed with a daughter who has given me a kind of love, joy, laughter, patience, frustration I had never experienced. (All of the things that I'm sure God feels towards me on a daily basis.).

Once again, His plan is so much better than I had designed.