And so it begins

Today we talked to Bethany Christian Services about the last of our concerns regarding the method by which we will adopt (foreign, domestic, or adoption from foster care) and we are now set to jump right in! When we started looking into adoption several months ago, we were fairly set on international adoption. After extensive research and a handful of orientations, however, we now believe that God is leading us to adopt within the United States. And so begins the paperwork! We are now in the process of officially applying for domestic adoption, and once we finish, we will turn in the paperwork with a check for $750 for processing. Even though $750 is on the low end of the payments that we will have to make, it does drive home the fact that we will need to start on some pretty serious fundraising if we are going to be able to afford to do this. We are trusting that God will provide.

Lots of emotions accompany us at this stage. Nervous excitement, determination, and a little fear are among them. This morning I got into an emotional Facebook argument with a girl I don't even know about abortion versus adoption and the value of unborn lives. She believes that abortion can be a good thing and, in fact, is the right choice for many women, especially those who face having children with special needs. This breaks my heart, and I told her how brave I think it is for many women these days to carry their children to term, especially with our society encouraging them to terminate their pregnancy if it's not happening under the right conditions. This is exactly why we are adopting. Yes, we could choose to have our own child, but we don't want to do that when we know that these brave women are carrying their babies to term and wanting good families for them. These babies are so precious, so special. We want them.

I feel that adoption should be the instinctive choice for more families these days. Bryan and I were watching a marriage talk by Francis Chan a few weeks ago, and at one point he stopped to talk about how many Christians say "if God leads me to adopt" when they talk about their decision on whether or not to adopt. This had been our thought process. Francis Chan, however, pointed out that we were approaching it from the wrong angle. After all, as Christians, we believe that we are adopted by God. Should we not, then, assume that adoption is the most natural and logical choice for any family? God also specifically calls us to care for the widows and orphans, so shouldn't we say "we will adopt unless God leads us to do otherwise?" This understanding gave us a kick in the butt to jump into the process with both feet. Instead of waiting for all of the money to come in or a special message from above telling us to do it, we will jump into it and trust that God will direct us.

Please pray for us as we begin this process of adoption and as we begin to raise the money we need! Lots of love to you all.  If you are also in the process of adoption and need prayers or support, please don't hesitate to let us know!