We were only weeks away from returning to our adopted home in China, the seven of us slightly squished into the borrowed SUV, when my husband leaned close and whispered, “It’s time to bring home our daughter from China.” Those were words I had longed to hear for over a year. More like a decade! A miscarriage the previous year had formed deep within a desire that there was one missing from our tribe. A decade before we had pursued an adoption from China, but in God’s sovereignty because of our age at the time and a move to Asia, it had to be put on hold.
A decade later and our bedrooms were filled to the brim with children, our finances stretched tight and our patience often running on low. Living in a foreign land, myself battling a chronic sickness, four sons with former orphan hearts grieving and growing along with one dependent, darling toddler girl seemed like enough to put me at the worn out point each day. There never seemed to be more to give; yet He filled my pitcher with just what I needed for what each day required. The more we emptied ourselves, the more we looked to and trusted Christ for every sap of strength and ounce of love. We poured and He filled to enough. The Lord was miraculously healing our hearts and filling our home with joy and was calling us to another step of faith.
That night after we put the kids to bed, with prayerful hearts, the two of us sat in front of the computer and went straight to the Lifeline website. We were confident that Lifeline would be the means to welcoming home our sixth child. We had heard from so many that Lifeline was a highly-respected and caring agency that walked with you through the adoption journey. Going with a trusted and honest agency was of utmost value to us.
In our previous adoptions, we had often been responsible to gather information and learn next steps, but with Lifeline we were given great guidance and support by our social worker and the entire Lifeline staff. Adoption can be a challenging process, but for an expat family it can get rather complicated as you add in more countries and steps along the way. Working with Lifeline we never felt like we were trying to figure things out on our own. They were always there to answer questions and support us. Lifeline was there to assist at each step.
Our daughter was born with a life-threatening heart condition and though we did not know what that would mean for all of us, the care she received at her foster home and the preparation we received from Lifeline brought encouragement and confidence as we prayerfully waited to bring her home.
In the fall of 2015 our girl came home. Two open heart surgeries prior to coming home and two just months after her arrival into our family, our girl lives bright and brave. She lives with a sense of wonder and welcomes each day with a smile and a good morning hug. We marvel at her life and the wonderful gift of being her parents. We are so very thankful to the Lord for using Lifeline to bring our precious girl home.