“Thanks be to God for
His indescribable gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15
The Lord brought Ellie to us in such an amazing way! It is a
story that I will delight in telling as long as I have the
breath to share it….
Since adopting Kate in Nov. 2004, I have continually sought the
Lord regarding adopting again… I could easily find a million
reasons why a second adoption would be a “crazy” idea and I had
nearly convinced myself so. I forced myself to keep my heart
open, though, in case God’s plans included something different
than my own. Over the months, I would look at children with
special needs waiting for families, but never sensed God’s
leading in that direction. In early Dec., I heard that a new
list of children had been posted by Christian World Adoption. I
could not resist taking a look. I instantly fell in love with
two little girls on their list– both with deformities of their
left hands. I was afraid to even mention this to Doug, since we
were struggling so much financially, so I quietly “checked on”
the two girls every night to see if a family had stepped forward
for them. A week later, one of the girls had been taken from the
list, as a family had “claimed” her. I sat at the computer and
cried. I was surprised by this unexpected response. Instantly I
sensed God’s nudging… “This little girl was not yours… Rejoice
that she has a home!” Still, I kept the website open containing
the picture of the second little girl that had captured my
heart. She was only 10 months younger than Kate and from the
same Province in China. Finally I admitted to Doug, Sarah and my
Mom that I could not stop thinking of this little one. Doug
assured me what I already knew...this would be impossible right
now! Still, I could not “let go” of her. I prayed constantly… If
she was meant to be our daughter, the Lord would “hold” her for
us and again make the impossible, possible!
On the night of Dec 22, Sarah called me to the computer.
“Someone got our little girl!” she said. No!...This could not
be! My heart dropped into my stomach. Sarah opened the website
to confirm my fears. A family had stepped forward to adopt this
precious little girl. I was crushed! Sarah and I stood in front
of the computer and cried. Finally, I pulled myself together and
rejoined the family in the kitchen. Instantly they sensed that
something was wrong… I burst into tears… Another family had
claimed the little girl I’d had my heart set on! Just then, Kate
woke upstairs. I jumped at the opportunity to rock her back to
sleep. It would give me time to cry, pray, and then pull myself
back together.
Later, when I returned downstairs, a bit more composed, Doug
presented me with an envelope. “An early Christmas present,” he
said, “...because you’re so upset!” I opened the envelope to
find a photocopied picture of “our” little girl with the words
“Merry Christmas Mommy!” written next to it! A family had indeed
stepped forward to adopt her… and that family was OURS! Doug had
just presented me with a Christmas gift beyond anything I could
have ever imagined– another beautiful daughter from China! Just
that morning Doug had decided to call and ask the adoption
agency to hold her on our behalf so that we could try to secure
the money necessary to adopt her. They agreed and would give us
the two week Christmas holiday to come up with the initial
$5,000. to start the adoption. For the next two weeks I
literally prayed “without ceasing”! I would even wake during the
night and pray for God’s provision to bring this little girl
home. If this was God’s will for our family, He would have to do
a miracle, as we had absolutely no financial resources for
another adoption right now. I could not even imagine how God
might provide such a miracle, but I refused to believe that he
would fail to provide what we needed if she was meant to be
ours. Even when only 2 days remained before she would be placed
back on the list for another family’s consideration, my faith
remained strong. Doug and I met for lunch to discuss our
options. We could draw from our small retirement account to
“hold” her or simply trust that if the Lord did not provide, she
was not meant to be ours and we would let her go. Just then, a
friend from church passed our table and stopped to chat. She
introduced us to her friend, also from our church, whom we’d
never met… They asked about Kate and we told them about our
hopes to adopt again, showing them a picture of the little girl
in China we were praying about. They promised to pray with us on
her behalf and left. Later that evening my phone rang… It was
Leigh, the women I’d just met at lunch earlier that day. She had
been touched by the story of this precious little girl. “How
much money do you need to bring her home?” she asked. I don’t
remember much about the rest of the conversation, as I was
overwhelmed with tears at seeing the hand of God move on behalf
of an orphan girl half a world away. |
Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far
one can go!” T.S. Elliot |
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