Several months ago, my son and daughter-in-law decided that they would start the long and involved process of adopting a child. This was a decision they made after suffering the sorrow of multiple miscarriages. This was a particularly difficult experience for my daughter-in-law, as many of her friends were experiencing the joy of having children while she was unable to do so. But the Lord has used it as a means of spiritual growth for them as they have learned more about the sovereignty of God and His love for them than they ever would have otherwise.
But they decided to pursue adoption as a means of adding a child to their family. They began the process of saving and fundraising to pay for this extremely expensive process. At the present time, the cost to adopt a child is between $18,000 and $20,000, all of which must be paid before the child is taken home by the adoptive parents. So it is a monumental task to gather that kind of money in a relatively short period of time.
After saving some of their own money and raising additional money through a large garage sale and t-shirt sales, they were doing well in gathering funds, but were nowhere near what they required. Suddenly and unexpectedly, their adoption coordinator called them and asked them if they were interested in pursuing the placement of a little girl due to be born on August 16th. There were some good reasons to pursue this particular child, particularly the fact that the mother had no addiction issues which almost always cause lifelong problems for the child. They were extremely surprised but decided that they would attempt to see if they could raise the additional funds they needed in the one month they had before the baby would come. Plus they had to get an entire nursery ready, including painting and obtaining all the furniture and other supplies normally associated with caring for a baby.
After checking how much money they had accrued, they determined that they were $7,000 short. Using a new means of fundraising recommended to them by friends who have adopted, they began a Facebook-a-thon, seeking donations from friends and family to help bring this little girl home to a loving family. That is when the amazing love of God’s people began to be demonstrated at a level that I must admit I didn’t expect. In less than two weeks, God used His people to generously give all $7,000 of the funds they needed! My faith was certainly far too small, as I never expected them to raise more than a couple of thousand dollars at the most. But God marvelously worked in the hearts of people to give far more abundantly than I could ever ask or think (Eph. 3:20). All the glory goes to God alone, who has used His children to provide the opportunity for a sweet little girl who needs a family that will love her with the love of Christ to be able to bring her home.
Now, all we have to do is wait for this young birth mother to give birth, and pray that the baby is healthy and that the mother does not change her mind at the last minute. Please pray with us to that end.
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