Adoption Story: Marty and Blair

God can do a lot in ten months. When Marty and Blair started with Christian Adoption Consultants last Fall, their plans had already been rerouted from the impact of the pandemic. Add to that concerns about what openness could hold and the fear of not being chosen, and it was hard to know what the future held.

Today Blair shares how they started their adoption process, worked through their fears, and how God worked through the adoption of their daughter.

Our adoption journey has taken many twists and turns, but we are so thankful to God for where He led us and for bringing our precious daughter into our lives. We started our journey in Fall 2019 and initially pursued international adoption. However, as COVID-19 hit, borders closed, and all international adoptions to China were halted, we were at a standstill and seeking God for how to proceed. It was around this time that the Lord began softening our hearts toward domestic adoption. In all honesty, we had been concerned about open adoptions, how a relationship with a birth mother would work, and the process of being "picked." A wonderful couple from our church had just adopted a baby boy from Florida, and had worked with Susan and CAC. We respected this couple tremendously and knew that if they trusted Susan with their adoption journey that we could, too. 

In Fall 2020, we made the decision to change our path toward domestic adoption, and began working with Susan and the fabulous CAC team. Susan was/is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, kindness, empathy, and encouragement. We trusted her at every turn and appreciated her presence every step of the way. As we applied to every agency that was recommended to us, and began receiving much education about domestic adoption, the Lord began to put His heart for these precious birth mothers in our hearts, and we were both filled with a passion for these women. Rather than being nervous and hesitant about an open adoption and a relationship with a birth mother, we found ourselves eager and excited to foster a relationship with a birth mother, invest in her, and welcome her into our lives. We knew this transformation in our hearts could only come from the Holy Spirit, and we even found ourselves excited to share and educate our family and friends about the importance of open adoption! 

We started receiving cases/situations beginning January 2021. After several "not yets," we received a call June 2021 from an agency in Florida that an expectant mother had chosen us! We immediately wept, as there is simply no greater honor than to be selected to parent someone's child. After matching, and trying desperately to remain cautiously hopeful, we prepared our hearts and home to welcome our baby girl. Her birth mother met us on a Skype call, and gave me (Blair) the greatest gift of inviting me to join her in the delivery room so that I can one day be able to  tell our daughter I was there. I was blown away at her courage, generosity, and selflessness throughout this process! So, I was able to be present for the birth of our daughter, and even cut her umbilical cord and feed her her first bottle! 

God has exceeded our expectations at every turn, and we are so grateful for His kindness and favor! Our daughter's birth mother has thankfully chosen an open adoption, and we are thrilled and grateful for this choice. We know this will be a win-win-win for all of us, and we are so eager for her to be in our daughter's life forever. There are simply no words to express how grateful we are for where God led us on our journey, how He transformed our hearts, and how our path took an unexpected turn, but gave us the gift of our precious daughter, our "immeasurably more!"