Chris Coghlan, an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, and his wife, Corrie, had not always been on the same page about adoption. Corrie had cousins who had been adopted and family friends who had adopted.

Adoption was woven into her heart, and she desired for it to be part of their story. Chris, however, admits that his view of adoption was limited: it was a great option but was for other people who couldn’t have biological children.

As God moved, He brought the Coghlans’ hearts together through the power of the gospel. God revealed to Chris that adoption was a beautiful picture of a believer’s adoption into God’s family, and his understanding of the gospel birthed a desire to adopt. Soon, they began the process to grow their family through domestic adoption with Lifeline.

Although they were overjoyed with the staff and mission of Lifeline, the long wait had chipped away at their hope. During the Christmas season of 2014, the Coghlans began praying that 2015 would be the year that they could be the parents of a precious child. Feeling defeated and hopeless almost a year later, they received the call that a birth mother had chosen them to parent her sweet son. Just in time for Christmas, baby Judge came home to his doting mom and dad, changing their lives forever.

One of the joys of the Coghlan’s adoption journey has been the relationship that Corrie has been able to build with Judge’s birth mother. Providing an open line of communication with this sweet mother, Corrie is able to show her the love of Christ by demonstrating the valuable woman that she is and her important part in Judge’s life. Corrie’s desire is for Judge to know the incredibly brave and loving choice his birth mother made to give him life and a family.

Being a multi-racial family, the Coghlans know that they can draw attention at times, and they embrace it. Corrie says, “I love that people stop and wonder what our deal is. And, I hope that when they see the Coghlans that they see a reflection of the love that Christ has for us and for them, and that when the world looks at us they see Jesus shining through.”

See the Coghlans tell their story in this video!