“You will be with
child and give birth to a son…”
January - Through
a series of God-ordained circumstances, I felt compelled to seriously talk with
my husband about adoption. International adoption…. from Ghana….. AFRICA!
“’How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel…”
“The angel answered, ‘The
Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow
you.’”
- Luke 1:31a, 34a & 35a
“HOW WILL THIS BE?” asked Mary. This year I spent so many days asking
the same question. Isn’t the angel’s reply perfect? The answer given to Mary is
God’s same answer for me. Not by my own strength, but everything “by the
power of the Most High.”
Many of you have already heard about our journey this year.
Some of you walked with us. You have prayed us through bumps, bruises,
surprises, starts, stops, and everything in between. Whether you have heard,
watched, or helped us live it, I hope our story encourages you as you read it
today.
The subject of adoption has come and gone in casual
conversation between Nathaniel and me since before we were married. However,
the night I opened up the topic with certainty that the Lord was calling us to
adopt a child from Ghana, the discussion seemed to go terribly. Nathaniel
agreed to pray about it, but he did not have the immediate eagerness I
expected. After an agonizing 45 days of being divided about adoption yet
faithfully praying for God’s will to prevail, Nathaniel directly heard from the
Lord that it was time to move forward. So we did!
March - Together,
we contacted multiple Adoption Agencies to find out that some recent changes
meant all doors to adoptions from Ghana were closed until further notice. Talk
about defeat! I was ready to fly over and adopt this child I’ve been longingly
praying for only to find out that we could not even start the process. My heart
struggled to be at peace and I realized God doesn’t call the weak to embark on
the journey of adoption. You adoptive mommas out there are strong and brave and
patient!
April - Nathaniel
was certain that adopting a child would be the completion of our family. Our 3
biological blessings were “enough” in terms of his perceived parenting
capacity. A fourth child was going to be a stretch. Nathaniel (with my
blessing) booked the next available vasectomy appointment for June 17th.
We have come to know and love “Grandma Judy” who lives full
time in Ghana as an American Missionary. She is 78 years old. She served at
Alafya House shelter for kids and continues to minister to many villagers there,
as well as raising 3 orphan boys entirely on her own. She mentioned needing
help during the month of August while all the kids at the shelter would be on
summer break and in her full time care. I sought the Lord fervently on how I
could help and became certain He was calling me to “GO”. Nathaniel approached
the opportunity with contemplative discretion. Eventually he prayerfully agreed
it was important for us to go serve together. These kids are not adoptable so
this would be a trip entirely separate from our call to adopt. Still, God opened
every door in front of us and laid every step before us. Without asking a
single person for financial support, God provided complete funding for both of
us to go to Ghana.
May - We found an
agency that would accept our Adoption Application and hold on to it until the
doors to adoption from Ghana reopened. They were hopeful that it would be
“soon.”
Meanwhile, we booked our tickets to Ghana, applied for our
Visas, scheduled vaccinations, and made all the arrangements for a 3-week trip
away from our kids in August.
June - We
completed our Adoption Application and sent it to our agency. Guess what
happened on June 12th…. We found out that we were pregnant. “How
can this be?!”
Days of unanswered questions took over our life. What about
adoption? What about our trip? What about Nathaniel’s vasectomy in 5 days? We
were stunned. Neither of us knew how to move forward, so we prayed (a lot). And
begged others to pray for us. Thank you to each of you who prayed.
God used this surprise and every person walking with us to
speak truth and life, keeping our spiritual armor intact. Satan was trying to
convince us that our world was falling apart. Now as I look back, I see a rich
season of growth and refinement in our faith. After all, soldiers are not created in the
training, but are made in the battlefield.
In the end it was clear we could not travel to Ghana this
summer. I was shattered, but God already had a bigger plan. He sent 2 friends
in our place, one of whom was adopted from Ghana and got to reunite with
friends and family from her childhood. God knew they were going all along, we
were just pieces of the puzzle that got them there. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that
prevails.” - Proverbs 19:21
August - Our
Adoption Agency re-opened their Ghana program and we could now proceed with the
application process. After much prayer we took the next step towards adoption,
knowing that it might still take years to complete.
September - We
found out that Baby Mouw is a BOY and the very next day got approval on our
Adoption Application. The Lord’s timing is perfect. He does not want us to
forget about our adopted son or daughter amidst the excitement of our new baby.
Today - We want
to obey the Lord without hesitation and faithfully steward our call to adopt.
Through Nathaniel, the Lord is leading us to focus on one child at a time for this season. God
is helping me understand that submission to Nathaniel is obedience to Him. As a
wife, my heart seeks to bring peace to our home in the midst of Satan’s
attempts to cause division. But my mommy heart fights with tear filled prayers
for our child who is somewhere in the world without us. Nathaniel is so gentle
with me, praying for and with me as we pursue unity. My anxious flesh wonders
if we will ever see adoption through to the end. I still struggle some days to
believe that the child inside me is ours too. The gift is too generous and I am undeserving. Daily, I have to fight the fear
of not being in control of labor and delivery, adoption, and someday managing a
household of 7. But I claim, out loud and often, “The Holy Spirit will come upon {me} and the power of the Most High
will overshadow {me}.” In it all, we are abundantly blessed. God is using this journey
to prove our faith genuine and bring glory to His name (1 Peter 1:7). He is so good.
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