John and I have felt, since the very beginning of our relationship, that adoption is something we would do. After having 2 biological sons, God made it clear that our next child would come to us through adoption. We began the process in the fall of 2015 and completed our adoption in December of 2016.

Pregnancy was always a joyful time for me, but sadly, for many women it is fraught with fear and anxiety. We strongly believe in choosing life. But choosing life is so much more than a slogan. We wanted to provide a loving family to a child that needed it— to the child whose mother’s love strengthens her to choose life and then choose the adoption plan that is best for her and her baby. That’s exactly what God helped us do.

James 1:27 says “ 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.”

So many times in our nation we see religion become something political or something you do to check off a bunch of boxes. Yes, we go to church, but our Christianity comes from being Christ Followers. We are not perfect, but we are attempting to live a life of obedience. There are so many ways to follow in obedience according to this verse in James, and I encourage each and every one of you to see how you can do your part.** When we began the process we had two toddlers, and we knew that the best choice for us was domestic infant adoption. It did require a huge financial commitment, one that was quite frankly scary, but what is money when you have a God who moves mountains? And let me say, that God answered prayers and provided the money for this adoption in a mighty way!

Adoption was an emotional journey full of excitement, anxiety, anticipation, impatience, and fear, to name a few. But God repeatedly calmed my heart with his reminder that adoption was His plan and we were getting a front seat to watch Him work. In the end, He provided the money and our child just like He planned, and in His perfect timing. Post adoption hasn’t been the easiest. Learning how to navigate the medical needs of our daughter has been its own emotional journey, and becoming a family of 5 and then 6 has been a wild ride. But the same God that started the process with us is the same God that is seeing us through day to day.

We are incredibly thankful that God chose to grow our family through adoption. We are thankful to all of the friends and family who have supported us and everyone who reads this blog and who is now on this journey with us. We hope that our story will encourage people to value life, even when science and the medical field don’t. We hope that our story will encourage others to consider adoption, whether as an expectant parent or an adoptive parent, and that the fear of the unknown or the financial cost won’t deter them from something so beautiful. We hope that our story of faith and action, even in the face of fear, will encourage you to step out in obedience in God’s plan for your life.

** Fun Fact: If one family from every church in America adopted a child from foster care, there would be no children in foster care. This is not what God called my family to do, however, I would encourage you to prayerfully consider this option. My brother and his wife adopted brothers out of foster care, and might I say, my nephews are amazing!