Brian and Heather started their adoption journey the beginning of this year. I've had the privilege of walking with them in their hopes to become parents in 2018. They were recently matched with an expectant mama and are anticipating welcoming a little one this fall. I love her heart as she so graciously shares God's very good idea for growing their family.
I think most people view adoption as plan B… you know, that thing you do once all else fails. And for some people, maybe that is why they adopt, which isn’t wrong! God has different journeys for each of us, and for some, adoption might start out as a plan B (but I’m pretty convinced it usually turns out to be so much more than that!). But adoption as plan B has never been the case for us.
Adoption wasn’t the “next best thing” or our “second choice.” Both Brian and I have had adoption on our hearts since long before we met each other, and we’ve always planned to grow our family through adoption. True, we decided to adopt now, rather than later, in part due to not getting pregnant as quickly as expected. But once we started talking about the idea of adopting now, instead of waiting until a few years down the road, the thought of not adopting was really disappointing. We longed to adopt!
Adoption is hard and beautiful and heart-breaking and breath-taking. It’s probably a lot like pregnancy in some regards, but also completely different in others. There are aspects that are messy and awkward, and others that bring me to tears because they’re so wonderful. And we haven’t even adopted yet! I can only imagine all the emotions I’ll feel come Fall when we get the call that our expectant mama is in labor.
What I do know is that we want this baby, with every fiber of our beings. We long to hold him or her in our arms, we picture how they will roll their eyes at Brian’s dad jokes one day, we feel fiercely protective of them. We have all of the same feelings that any expecting parent has (I imagine). And we’re so grateful for how our friends and family have already begun to celebrate this precious life with us. We know Baby Douglas is loved, and that them coming into our family is no mistake, but rather, the sovereign hand of God at work.
God knew we would be starting our family through adoption. This isn’t a surprise to Him. It was His idea! And His plans are perfect. So adoption isn’t second best for us, rather it’s God’s first best. We feel so lucky that He chose us to pursue adoption as this point in our lives, and I bet we’ll feel even more lucky once that babe is in our arms!
For Heather's original post and to follow their adoption journey, find her blog at Love, Team Douglas.
For Heather's original post and to follow their adoption journey, find her blog at Love, Team Douglas.
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