If you have never adopted a child before, I will let you in on a little secret.  The process, for most, begins with a picture.  You are sitting there unaware and you click on a link or you open an email and you see a face staring back at you.  A face that is instantly seared onto you heart.  One that causes you to realize that this is your child even though you have never seen them before.  Now, I know that most people who know us think that we get that feeling about every picture that we see!  But that isn’t true.  We see pictures of many wonderful children who need a home every day.  But only a (relatively) small number stir up all the emotions that bonds us to that child instantly.

In July 2013, I was out grilling the family dinner, minding my own business, looking forward to the two girls we would be adopting before the end of the year, when I saw this picture posted on Facebook:

As with every child we have adopted before and since, this picture melted our hearts and ultimately lead to us adopting Jessie.  I have posted this picture before, several times, and I happy to say that not only did this picture motivate us, but it has also been the catalyst for several other families to adopt.  One of those is in China right now adopting a little girl from the same orphanage.

But I post it now because we recently celebrated Jessie’s 15th birthday, her second birthday since arriving in our home last year.  Now, I don’t typically post birthday pictures of the kids, not because each child and their birthday is not special, but because I think there are just so many present opening and candle blowing out pictures you, the reader, would want to see before you became bored and stopped reading.  My kids were just complaining yesterday that I only put some of their birthday pictures on the blog.  While these pictures are very special to our family, they probably lack a significant amount of appeal to those outside our four walls.

But as I watched Jessie opening her presents…

… and blow out her candle …

… and being our typical Jessie …

… I was stunned by the realization that 18 months ago we did not even know who she was!  In 18 short months, we saw her picture, fell in love, traveled to China, and have celebrated TWO birthdays with her.  For a process that typically takes so long, God chose to bring her into our lives on His time.  In His manner.  At His speed.  And now we can not even imagine a life without her.

As we have gone down this adoption road, we have been forced to realize that God’s timing is perfect and that our impatience and frustration really won’t speed the process up!  It only makes the time pass more slowly and painfully.  With each adoption, we have slowly started to realize that a better option is to sit back and wait on God’s timing as it is, and always has been, perfect.

We received notice on Monday that we would get our LOA (Letter of Approval) for Charlie and Ashley within the next several days.  It is now Saturday and that LOA may now not come for awhile.  While frustrating, we know that the LOA will come when it needs to come, and we will travel when we are supposed to travel, and Charlie and Ashley will become a part of our family when God feels it is time.  He is sovereign and life goes so much more smoothly when we remember that …

Cameron