Sometimes The Call is Hard

We have been called. Called by a Father who loves us. Called by a Creator that makes no mistakes. Called to live out our faith in a radical way. We don't always understand why He calls us to certain things, but we trust that His purpose is greater than anything we could do on our own.

This weekend we went to Florida. We met our future daughter. We knew going into this that she is disabled. We were hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst case scenario. In truth, we landed somewhere in the middle. We knew that she had cerebral palsy. We knew that she uses a wheelchair. We knew she had little to no mobility. We knew that even at 3 she has very little language ability. We knew that bringing this child into our family would forever change our lives. What we didn't know was how quickly this little girl would capture our hearts.

Friday morning we arrived at the home of the foster parents. We were ushered in to find Eden on the floor in front of the TV. We made our introductions to social workers and foster parents, and then I went and sat on the floor by this sweet child. I leaned over and looked into her eyes and said hello. Her soul smiled back at me through those eyes. I knew that I didn't understand why the Lord put this child in our lives, but that He had already opened up my heart to receive her. Ed and I spent the next several hours talking to the foster parents and interacting with Eden.

We left their house that afternoon rattled. I'm not going to lie. We were rattled. We had prepared or so we thought to meet this little girl and take all of her medical issues in stride. I'd love to tell you how we left 100% doubt-free knowing that we'd live happily ever after. The truth is we left asking, "Are you sure Lord?" Adopting her seemed suddenly like an overwhelming idea. How was our life going to change? What was everyone going to think? Could we handle all of her needs? We went back to where we were staying and prayed. We needed reassurance. We needed confirmation. We needed encouragement. Sometimes the call makes us stretch. Being called ALWAYS makes us grow. We know that this is what the Lord called us to do. We know that not everyone will understand. Some people will even disapprove. The reality is that nothing matters in this world as long as MY JESUS is pleased with me. Am I living my life for Him? Am I doing His will? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. His grace is sufficient.

Saturday morning we arrived at her house at 8 a.m.. We learned about her medications, bathed and dressed her and then were allowed to take her out for the day. We loaded her up in the car and off we went. We spent about an hour at the park letting Princess E play. Ed and I took that time to just hold Eden and let her touch us and learn our voices and smells. We then went to a small kids science museum. Princess E really enjoyed this and it gave us a small sample of what if will be like to include this little girl in our family. A quick lunch after that and it was time to take her home again. Before leaving the restaurant she sat in Ed's lap and we prayed over her. We left her house Saturday feeling better. God had given us peace about this adoption. Now we wait. We've done all we can and if it is meant the be then the paperwork will go quickly and she will come home to us soon.

Here are a few of the picture we took this weekend.

How can you resist that smile?


Our day at the park




Ed and the girls


Eden's sweet face

She has such a sweet spirit about her. She at this stage is very much like a new baby. Her potential is unknown. What we do know is this: she is a child of God. He loves her just as she is and that is all he wants us to do too--love her for who she is not what she can do. We aren't naive to think it will be easy. We know there are many challenges ahead, but God equips those He calls. We trust Him.