Our decision to adopt

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is...Stop...Let me try again, and this time with much less Holden Caulfield. 

I think the topic of adoption first started during our courtship.  The conversation was probably light and extremely hypothetical:

Laura: Do you want to have kids someday?
Adam: Sure.
Laura: Care to elaborate?
Adam: Sure, I'd like to have lots of kids someday.

and on it would go, how many kids, do you want boys or girls, would you want to adopt?  I think we both agreed that, sure, as 20 year olds finishing college, adopting a child and having children in general probably sounded like a lot of fun and something we would do after we had all the fun that a young couple in love could have.


Fast forward a few years, and we had Garrett and somewhere between changing diapers and wondering "why, again, did we choose this?" we hypothetically discussed adoption, but only briefly since life felt overwhelming. 

We revisited this conversation after Kathleen was born and again when we were expecting Eli. The only difference was that after our third child, Laura's answer to the question "do you want to adopt" was a resounding NO!

Still, I, Adam, couldn't quite shake the feeling that adoption was a God honoring and important life decision.  Simply because I continually thought about it affirmed that adoption was something serious I should consider.  And so I prayed.  My prayer was simply: "God, my wife and I are on different pages when it comes to adoption.  I don't want to stress her or worry her or add to her already full load as a mother.  So I leave it to you.  If adoption is something you want for my family then you will work in her heart and get us on the same page; I leave it now with you."  And that was the last I thought about it.  Until Laura brought up adoption and suggested we seriously consider it.  

Consider my mind blown by this answer to prayer.

Thus began a year of prayer, research, and thoughtful conversation which eventually lead to action.  And now here we are, just a few months into the process and our whole family is totally committed.  Garrett even regularly prays for the "little kiddo we're bringing into our family." 

We feel so blessed in so many ways we simply want to be able to bless a child who has no family.  We want to love and care for a child who has no one to love and care for her.  That is our heart, may God bless our efforts.