Our journey through adoption.

Last night we received a call from Amy’s caseworker, not the call that Landon was on his way, a call that the birthfather contacted Amy for our information because he wanted to speak to us…so a long story short, what he needed to know was that we cared about him, that we knew his side of the story, that we knew what he is sacrificing by making this decision to sign over his rights. He poured his heart out to us, he is about to lose everything that has meaning in his life because of this decision, his family has threatened and is going through with kicking him out, he has no where to go, no job, no car, nothing…but he repeated a couple different times that he knows “down deep in his heart that he is making the right decision for Landon, and that he knows he is not in a spot in life right now that he wants to be in…”. What I realized is that I have been so focused on Amy and Landon in my prayers that I often have not lifted this young guy up in prayers…thankfully Darrel has consistently been…and I was reminded that he is just as much a part of Landon as Amy…and that the Lord needs me to remember to pray for him daily, from last night on too, forever as we plan on doing for Amy.

It was neat because when we talked to Amy for the first time on the phone, the conversation was more lead by me, as a young women I think Amy needed to hear more about the women who would be caring for her son…last night it was switched, the conversation was more between Darrel and Landon’s birthfather. It was awesome for me to witness how Darrel interacted with him, how he spoke to him, not as a young guy but as a man and with such compassion and sensitivity. Darrel gave him what he needed I feel, reassurance that his decision is one that he admires, that we are extremely grateful for and that because he is sacrificing more than alot for this decision we can see his heart for Landon, and we can share this with Landon in the future. Darrel was able to share about our losses, and how because of our losses we can understand the loss he is feeling now…it was a Lord directed conversation. I was nervous still after we had ended the conversation that he maybe was having doubts but Darrel said “its going to be okay Julie….” and a few minutes later, Amy’s caseworker called us back and said “you guys were real with him, genuine, transparent…and because of this he feels a peace that he is in fact making a good decision and wants to help speed along the process and will be going to court immediately after the arrival of Landon to sign his rights away…”

Once again we see a piece of the puzzle that needed to be added, just four days before the arrival of Landon, He needed us to hear and understand Landon’s birthfathers heart…that he maybe was touched by Darrel last night in a way that we may never see come to life but that Darrel was able to share the love of the Lord through his words and heart for him…

 Dear Lord, You reminded me especially that You desire for me to care for this young man, You put him on the phone with us last night to care for him, I pray you bless him Lord, more than that use him in big ways, by making the decision he is Lord, he is losing many people in his life, his family, the ones who he needs to be there and love him unconditionally…he knows Lord he is making the right decision, however he is being punished for it, please Lord change the hearts of his family, soften them…we thank You for him…its an honor to know that you place people in our lives, trusting that we will care for them…we thank You for putting him in our lives, this conversation by no means was a mistake, it was planned by You, You desired for all of us to be on the phone last night together, so we could understand more what it is You are doing, we promise Lord the same promise we’ve made to Amy that he will forever be in our prayers. Lord thank you for reminders, thank you for all You’ve been doing, even four days before the birth of our son, you continue to open doors for growth in this journey…thank You, I pray that you be with every single person involved in this journey, that the overpowering feeling of peace be deeply rooted in each soul. What an incrediable God you are, that You are giving us this gift that is beyond what we deserve…we hope that we can be used more…thank You Lord. We love you…Amen