As I've shared about our journey to adopt, many have said, "Oh, we've talked about adopting . . ." and you know what, WE told many people that too prior to starting our process. I truly believe God places the desire to adopt in our hearts, as He places many other things on our hearts. I may be TOTALLY off here so don't go and quote me, but I heard somewhere 20% of couples discuss adopting to build their family. That's a lot really!
There are many couples who shared their story with us, God bless them. I would ask questions and they answered, shared their thoughts, their experiences before and after adopting, their experience with their children's birth countries, and how they started the process. There are a MILLION questions that circle through your head when you think about adopting...
- How long does it take?
- How do you choose an agency?
- How do you choose between a domestic adoption and an international adoption?
- How do you choose which country from which to adopt?
- How much do you know about the child before you adopt him or her?
- How do you pay for an adoption?
- How do you start the process?
etc. etc. etc.
So, I'm just putting myself out there - If you ever want to chat about adoption, or you're thinking about adoption, feel free to use me as a resource. I do not have all the answers and haven't yet completed an adoption, but I can share what I've learned so far, and about the choices we've made, and how God has led us. We've been in the process for about 2 years. And well, we'll be in the process for the rest of our lives really, as we live out being an adoptive family.
I remember that feeling, that longing to adopt and wondering what to do with that "feeling". So I prayed. I prayed that God would put other adoptive families in our lives, and ya know what? He did. So if you've got that feeling -- start praying -- for God's leading and wisdom, for Him to unify and guide your hearts as a couple, and step out in faith that you are answering a call that the good Lord has put on your heart, simply by praying about it first.
Lastly, for some reason - its tricky for others to leave comments on my blog - I don't know why that would be! There's no "ANONYMOUS" option here - I'm not sure why there isn't - I've seen those on other blogs. Sad, because I looooove comments. Hmmm - So if you want to chat, shoot me an email or give me a call or grab me when you see me, but beware, my 2 year old may be running away from me while we chat, so I might be a touch distracted! Ha!
