Sunday, July 14, 2013

Big News ... and a leap of faith!!!

It has been almost two years since we brought Penny Love home from the orphanage in Ethiopia.  In some ways, it has been the blink of a eye.  In other ways, I can't even remember our life without her.  She is in EVERY way a DeMaio.  

Dustin and I talked about adopting again almost as soon as Penny came home but we wanted to give her time to become adjusted and for us to develop a "new normal" as a family.  In adoption, there is a "honeymoon period" in which all members of the family are on their best behavior and I had learned that this period could be a few months to several years so we wanted to be sensitive to what needs she may have once we all began to adjust.  I will save the adjustments that we have made as a family for another blog (or maybe not - still trying to discern what is "her story to tell" vs. what would be helpful to other adoptive families looking for solidarity).

In July of last summer (2012) we decided we could consider pursuing adopting again.  First we considered Ethiopia and applied with an agency a friend had used which placed potential families on a wait list without payment up front (which is really unheard of in international adoption).  We heard back from them in November that they were closing their Ethiopia program due to changes in adoption policy in-country.  God had closed that door.  

We next considered foster to adopt through the state of North Carolina.  I filled out paperwork in December, placed several phone calls and then waited for a response...  I didn't hear back until March and the information I received led us to believe that this was another door closed.

OK, God.  What now?  Are you telling us that our family is complete?

And I would walk past our guest room downstairs - fully furnished and vacant - and I couldn't help but consider that God wasn't finished with our family yet.  But it may happen differently than I anticipated.  So we waited to hear from Him about what to do next...

In April, I was reading a biography to the kids about Gladys Aylward ( an English missionary in the early 1900's to China).  I had never even heard of her before beginning the book but now she has become one of my heroes because of her unbelievable faith and ability to hear God speak to her.  While reading the book to the kids, we were all floored by how many times insurmountable circumstances didn't stop her from pursuing her dream to reach people of the mountains of China with the love of God.  She simply trusted that God would take care of the details if she followed Him.  

I want that kind of faith!  I want to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren that speaks of pushing boundaries in order to see people understand the unbelievable love God has for them.   I started thinking, "Why are we so set on a specific place or time?  Our next child may be from ANYwhere!"  And as soon as I started to consider the possibilities of God speaking in HIS timing and not mine, the floodgates opened.  

I talked to Dustin about the possibility of us requesting a little boy with cleft lip and palate from somewhere in the world - I didn't really know where - and we agreed that we should research it.  I always had a special place in my heart for kiddos with cleft lip and palate because my brother was born with the condition and I adore him.  He had never let it hold him back and was always brave when facing surgeries and trips to the hospital.  In fact, one of his surgeries when I was in elementary school became the first time that I prayed for something each day for a length of time - for his recovery, for his safety, for his return home. 

Once I had researched special needs adoption, with cleft as a primary requirement, we settled on China.

Yep, that's the BIG NEWS - We are adopting a little guy from China!  Now, I know I'm no Gladys Aylward and my faith is small but I am willing to follow her example and take a leap of faith, knowing that God has our little guy in his hands at this very moment and we are beyond thrilled!

So, halfway around the world, a boy is waiting for his mommy and daddy to come bring him home.  And the paperwork craziness has begun again - and we take a leap of faith that God forms families in HIS time.



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