Although I've got lots of little stuff I want to write about in today, it will have to wait. I really want to get right to the point of today's post. Anyone who knows me well at all also knows of my brother-in-law Matt and his wife Heather. And you really don't have to know me much at all to know out their sweet daughter and my precious niece, Glory. A couple of post ago, I mentioned Matt and Heather and asked you all to pray about a potential adoption situation for them. Well, nothing ever happened with that situation. However, that could have been because God had something else in the works!
Matt and Heather found out 2 weeks ago that they will be parents again!! Through a set of God ordained miraculous circumstances, Matt and Heather will bring home a newborn baby next Tuesday!!! How's that for an answer to prayer!!!
Let me back up and tell the whole story...
Matt and Heather's journey to parenthood has been a long and hard one as they have struggled for years with infertility. The hurt has extended beyond the two of them and into the lives of so many who love them dearly. With aching arms and hurting hearts, they began to pray that God would show Himself in their family and that He would be glorified through their struggle and pain.
Two years ago, God answered that prayer in a mighty way. Matt and Heather decided to pursue adoption in December of 2006. They were told to expect the process to take some time. It's often years before parents are matched with a child. However Matt and Heather's time had come. There would be very little waiting for them. The agency they chose to go through has a very sophisticated process of matching families who wish to adopt with babies available for adoption. In addition to completing lots and lots of paperwork, the potential families create something called a profile which is somewhat of a scrapbook about themselves. After the agency determines possible matches, the birth mother is shown the profiles of the potential matches and selects the family she believes is right family to parent the child she is carrying. For Matt and Heather, on the very day their application was final and complete, their profile was matched with a birth mother (miracle - doesn't usually happened that fast) AND that birth mother chose them to parent the child she was carrying (another miracle - also doesn't typically happen the very first time shown). The baby was due to be born in less than two months. After years of waiting and longing, Matt and Heather were now on the fast, very fast, track to parenthood. Glory was born on June 24, 2007 and came to live with her forever family on July 13, 2007. She was appropriately named Glory, because God was indeed glorified through this process. The testimony that God has given Matt and Heather has greatly impacted the lives of many. God never forsakes us! He always has a perfect plan! Glory is beautiful and looks very much like Matt and Heather! She also as the sweetest little heart!
Desiring that Glory would have the blessing of a sibling and knowing the process usually takes some time, they decided to apply again before their application expired (meaning the entire process would have to begin again). Once again they were chosen in a miraculous set of circumstances to become the parents of a precious newborn. However that baby was not intended to be theirs. The birth mother changed her mind one day before her time was up to do so and decided to parent the child herself. It was a devastating loss for our entire family.
For me, at first it was hard to see God's hand in that situation. But now as I look back, I know that God was at work through it all. Matt and Heather loved (and still love) that young lady and the the child she is now parenting. They ministered to her in many ways. Matt and Heather both see adoption as a calling for their lives. Heather, especially, has such a heart for the birth mothers. She prays and loves these ladies the way we are called to love each other. I'm confident that the love they poured out on that birth mother and baby has made a permanent impact on their lives. I'm not sure how that will effect their future, but I know that Matt and Heather did their part. They loved her and gave her a glimpse at what a Godly family looks like. She has seen in them an example of what a life, marriage, and family can be through Christ. While knowing they were part of that divine plan, not bringing the baby home was still a very painful loss.
Another thing that came out of that loss was a stronger relationship between me and Heather. Because of my own losses, I was able to grieve with her and occasionally offer comfort. I began to pray that God would give them another baby. I prayed for God to give them a baby quickly. I specifically prayed that a baby would be born and the agency would not even contact Matt and Heather until the baby was for sure theirs. If I have my facts right, the birth mother has 6 days after signing all the legal documents to change her mind. I prayed that they would not have the anxiety of waiting for those days to pass. After feeling led to pray this way for them, I called to tell Heather of my new bold and specific prayer and she said that was her prayer also. The agency does sometimes handle adoptions this way, but Heather did not expect that this would ever be her case. SO, when she got a call just two weeks ago she was a little surprised to learn that this was exactly what had happened. My favorite part of all this is that their new baby was born June 24, 2009!!! Now notice when Glory was born!!! These two siblings share a birthday!!!!
I cannot wait to meet this baby! I get to do that on July 14, two years and 1 day from the day I met my precious first niece, Glory. My guess is that this baby is a girl. Matt and Heather know, but they are torturing the rest of us by making us wait until we meet the new little bundle. Why do I think it is a girl? Because I know that Matt and Heather would love for Glory to have a little sister. Of course, they would be happy with either gender, but I suspect that they just might have gotten their heart's desire for a baby girl.
God has done so may awesome things regarding these two adoptions and Matt and Heather's family. I have barely scratched the surface. Maybe I can get Heather to write a little post here on my blog herself about how the Lord has been faithful to her, what He has taught her, what she is still learning, and how she still struggles.
Personally, my faith has been increased by seeing God answer our prayers for this new baby so specifically. This "Minor" miracle is anything but minor. My specific prayer for our family is that God would fill the longing of mine and Wesley's heart and give us another baby in a miraculous way. I can't wait to journal through the journey of what God is doing in our "Minor" lives!!
As soon as I have met the newest "Minor" I will post all about it! I also promise to stop with all the "Minor" references! It was just a fun thing isolated to this post. On one final note if anyone wants to first hand participate in this miracle, Matt and Heather still have to come up with $9,000 more dollars for this adoption. I'm not exactly sure how long they have to come up with the money, but they are trying not to stress over this and to trust in God's provision. He was faithful in providing the funds they needed for Glory's adoption (a whole 'nother miraculous story). If you are interested in making a financial contribution to their adoption fund, please contact me. I will get you the information necessary to do that!
Stay tuned for the "Minor" details (last time, I promise)...
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