Thankful for Birthmothers today...

Two years ago we received a call that changed our lives. It was 6:30 am and I was wondering why would someone call so early, they better have a good reason. I cannot think of a better reason then what it was. I hope to be awaken soon with another call just like that. Today I will write in my son's birthday journal for more on that you can click this link and read a guest blog I wrote: Birthday Journal

For today I am thankful for birthmothers that give out of love. Who chose life rather than death. Some claim that "these people" are selfish. Who chose to PLACE not give up their children for adoption. I cannot think of anything more SELFLESS then when they think of a child before themselves. People have made a lot of odd, mean, and downright stupid comments to us in the past two years. I am sure that much of it is based out of ignorance or the idea that they want to know more but do not know what to ask. One thing that people will say is how lucky our son is to have us. I think what they mean to say is "how great God is that he would match us up."

For to say that someone in our situation is lucky displaces God. It puts God is a place that he does not deserve to be in. That He does not have any baring on what happens in my life. Jeremiah 1:5 talks about how "he knew us before he formed us in our mothers womb." That does not seem like chance or luck to me, rather it shows passion and love for someone He created. Mark Zubert, my BWW buddy, shared with us during our first adoption that God had already chosen a child just for us. That is not luck, that is passion and love for his creation.

I will never forget the tears that we cried basically all day on the 28th, two years ago. It was the beginning of a long journey that we had been on and we knew that God had something great for us. Pray for birthmothers today because they need it more than you might know. I have learned that you never know who you will come in contact with so be ready to share your story. One of our friends is a birthmother and we feel a special bond with her. We shared our story with her not knowing what she had been through and getting to know her has been healing for us.

I will write in his journal today with tears and joy. Writing of all the things that we have went through this year, trying to explain as best I can so that one day when he gets it he will know how deep our love has been for him. He will know just how much we prayed for him. He is loved from so many sides. He will know his story.

But today we pray for birthmothers everywhere, but especially ours and our future birthmothers we will have. They have a decision to make that will change lives. Pray that God gives them support all around their decision.

Thanks for reading-

Ryan

The Journey Part 2: Show us your glory, send down your presence.

It has been a while since my last post. I was trying as I might to focus on my last full semester. This does not mean that my classes are done, I have four left this summer so it will be busy for us. This has been a great month for us. God has been so good to us. On May 7th our homestudy was official, we had to do a second fingerprinting so it took almost a month longer than it should have.

We finished our first round of fundraiser and are putting the puzzle together. This has been so helpful for us as we pay for the different adoption expenses that come our way. We ask that you keep praying for us as we apply for grants, talk with different agencies, and listen to what God has for us. Please be in prayer for the birth family as they make a enormous decision on where to place their baby. God loves and care for this family and we ask that you pray with us for this family. Many of these mothers are making a few choices adoption, abortion, or parent the child. We pray that as we prepare not only for the next few months of the adoption procedure that you would also be in prayer for the placement, that it would go smoothly and God would be given the glory.

The next step for us in the adoption journey is that we wait for news. We are printing off our paperwork and our photo books to send to adoption agencies in the next weeks. Applying for grants and doing more fundraising. One of the grants that we hope for is a matching grant. We did this last time and we were able to raise almost $7,000. They do not give you an outright grant like others but they tell you that they will match dollar for dollar up to $3,000 and any donation that is given and it is tax deductible for the donaters . This was such a blessing for us last time. Any amount given over the $3,000 will still be given to you it will just not be matched.

Sarah and I were driving home last night, we were using the last of my birthday food coupons. That day I had prepared two different adoption files to go out in the mail and was waiting on three more from different places to gather the stuff again and send it out. As I was driving The song Show me your Glory, by Third Day came on the radio. I welled up a little bit because the thought came over me that we have been seeing the glory of God again during our latest adoption journey. (FYI I caught myself before it got bad, I had the idea that if Sarah caught me crying I would tell her I poked myself in the eye.)

People have given out of themselves and for some they like the widow who had just two pennies do not have much at all. People have meet needs of ours when we had no idea God was preparing something for us. In the next months we are going to need God to show up and show off in our lives. He will need to break into our lives to show us his glory. There are going to be times when we will just spend most of the day crying because of different heartbreak and trials. In those times I pray that God will show us his glory. There will be times when we will have to make a decision in 1 hour if we adopt a certain child or not. In those times I pray that God will show us his glory.

There will be times when we will not be sure we can go any farther because of the heartbreak we see in the face of the birthfamily. In those times we need God to show his glory, and send down his presence more than ever. Then the time will come when we say yes to our future child(ren) and we are parents again to a baby(ies) that God has already chosen before hand for us. In that time we will need God to show us his glory, and be present in our lives. We will get a phone call that we need to come right now to go pick up our newest family member(s), scramble to find flights, find a car, places to stay, and people to care for us. At that point we have caught a glimpse of God's splendor. At that moment we will never be the same again, we will run around like chickens with no heads.

As the song says, I cannot go on without you. That is what is IN THE END. In the end we as a family cannot go anywhere without you. I have been having the song playing on in the background of this song for the last 20 minutes as I type. Since we have started the adoption process I have noticed God has continued to show me that, yes I CAN go on without him, but we do not WANT to go without Him.Why would I?

He created me for something more than that. He created me for relationships and so we thank you over and over for blessing us with your prayers, with kind words, and friendships. I have found out that one never knows why God places people on our hearts. Some of you have sent private messages via text, email, Facebook, twitter, and snail mail. At those moments God has been needed the most.

Thank you for your support. In THOSE times we need God to show his glory and send down his presence.

Ryan