What a honor it is to share our story…and I hope it is inspires and encourages you! Our family was created by no other than the Lord and His wondrous design! Just like a beautiful quilt pieced together one block at a time to create something beautiful, our family has been put together by no other than our most amazing designer, God! There is no way I could have come up with something quite so unique and beautiful myself.
I did not grow up in a large family or around anyone who was adopted. But…somewhere along the way I became aware of the orphan crisis in our world. I can remember as far back as age 18 or 19 and hearing about hundreds of babies in orphanages without families, and my heart sunk. I saw programs about this. My heart cried out for these precious, vulnerable little ones all over the world. After accepting Christ at the age of 18, I began to see God’s heart for the orphan as I studied His word, and saw verses like :
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27
and
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
and many more.
I knew there was no way I could live out my Christian walk knowing there were 163 million orphans worldwide, and not step out in faith and do my part. It became my passion. How could it not? I will not leave them as orphans, I will come to them, walking out John 14:18 became my calling. As a Christian I could not ignore this need. In 2001 I went to Russia to visit orphans, it changed me forever. A part of me is still there and my heart hurts to remember the depravity and desperation I witnessed.
I consider all of my children miracles. Our only biological child turns 13 soon. She was a tiny preemie in the hospital and is now a healthy, thriving, wonderful young lady! Our now 8 year old was adopted from China. Knowing what I know now about what happens in China to so many women, families and children, her life is nothing short of miraculous! Since the age of five she has had a strong calling on her life for missionary work and to help orphans as well. She is inspiring and has a beautiful heart. I cannot begin to express my amazement at what God has done in this little orphan-turned-daughter! I cannot wait to see her life unfold as she follows Him and impacts the lives of those she touches for His glory!
Early on in my life, I became aware of how destructive drugs and alcohol can be. For awhile I was considering a career path as a drug and alcohol counselor but then realized not having experience in those areas may not have made me the best person for that role. God had other plans in that area. I became aware of the huge need in my own community for foster parents. Babies and children of all ages were being placed into the foster care system mostly due to drug and alcohol issues of their biological parents. Another way to help vulnerable children? Yes! Sign me right up! And so I took the classes, did the paperwork, and our first foster baby was placed with us the summer of 2009. My heart almost burst when I was handed a car seat containing one of the most adorable baby girls I had ever seen! Our hearts were in love immediately with this precious bundle, and about two years later, she became legally ours through adoption! Our foster care journey didn’t stop there! Nine months after we brought our first baby girl home, we were called about another newborn baby girl that needed to be picked up at the hospital. Bringing her home was a blessing as well! About a year and half later, we got a call that her three year old brother needed an adoptive home as well! This came as quite a shock, however, he has also been such an incredible blessing! Thinking our hands were totally full…I never thought we would even consider another child. But…I should have known, sometimes God has other plans in the works for us. I actually started having thoughts that there was an African American baby boy that belonged in our family. I shared this with my husband only. The community we live in is predominantly Caucasian and Hispanic, so I began looking into U.S. domestic adoption, but we had not committed to moving forward with any agency yet. Then, one day we got another call from our local DSHS office. There was a four month old baby boy that needed a placement. Would we take him? We were not given any other information. We said yes, and went to pick him up. When I walked in and saw this beautiful chocolaty brown skinned baby boy, my immediate thought was “Only God!”. I was utterly surprised, to say the least…but at the same time I felt completely and totally blown away by God’s sovereign plan for our family and the lives of our children. I knew I was sitting right in the middle of His perfect will.
Adoption has blessed our lives in ways I never could have expected. I have seen the hand of God in every situation. Children are a blessing. Is our story complete? Like the beautiful quilt I mentioned earlier…I am not sure that each block of our beautiful family is here yet. There are still millions more orphans out there waiting…there are still babies and children needing foster homes…how can I say for sure our quilt is finished? Only time will tell as we wait and pray and listen to the Lord as He leads us.
Follow Michelle and her beautiful family on their blog: www.snowberryfarm.blogspot.com
Story written by: Michelle
The story was seen first on Real Imprints.
