Chosen for Adoption

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace.” ~Ephesians 1:3-5a~

We have always heard, and known, that adoption is a picture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but our understanding of this truth continues to grow with each day and step of our adoption journey. The beginning of the process was arduous as we waded through paperwork, counseling sessions, meetings, fundraising and waiting. We were working for a little one whom we loved, did not know and who was not aware of us. We were reminded daily of Christ’s pursuit of us while we were unknowing of Him. This stage was humbling as we remembered again and again the love of our Saviour. This first stage in the journey was just a small glimpse into the sacrificial love God offered us through His Son, Jesus Christ. On April 29th, 2019 we received approval to begin reviewing files for CARA (India’s Adoption Governing Authority). This was a blessing, but proved to be one of the most challenging things we have ever walked through. We received our first referral soon after approval, and we listened in anticipation as our case worker began to review specifics. It became clear early on that this child was not the one Christ had for our family, but saying, “No” to an actual child is hard and excruciating. We prayed and cried as we considered this file, then another with the same response. One evening, Jessica was talking with a friend about the difficulty of the situation. She explained to her the guilt associated with the decision. She talked about the pain of reviewing an additional file with fear of another, “no,” and she expressed her fear of never knowing clearly who our child would be. Our wise friend was so gracious to remind us that even this challenging decision is a picture of the Gospel of God’s grace. Just as Christ “chose us in Him… for adoption as sons,” (Eph. 1) we would choose our child and be able to share this great truth with them someday! We are so thankful for the wisdom of others and the great truth of His Word, and we are also excited to announce that our fears did not become reality. On June 19th, 2019, we officially said, “Yes!” to a beautiful two year-old little girl! We could not be not be more excited! This journey has been challenging and humbling all at the same time. Our trust in Christ and understanding of the Gospel continues to grow each day with each new step. We still have a lot of paperwork and waiting ahead as we prepare for our daughters arrival. We ask that you join us in praying for wisdom, perseverance, trust and grace as we work and wait. We also ask that you pray for our little girl. Pray for safety, her health and even now that God will be preparing her heart to know us and Him.