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$\"_MG_1573$ <\/a> $\"_MG_1573$ <\/a>Sometimes our greatest blessings in life come from the biggest leaps of faith. \u00a0As a 35 year old single woman, I had felt God calling me toward adoption for some time. \u00a0But I drug my feet. \u00a0I had a comfortable, \u201cpredictable\u201d life, and the idea of becoming a single mother was scary. \u00a0Becoming a single mother to a child with unknown special needs was even scarier. \u00a0I prayed about it and researched my options, but I wasn\u2019t ready to make any commitments.<\/p>\n

In January 2013, I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling so strong from God that it was time to take action. \u00a0The next day, I submitted my application to adopt. \u00a0For months, I met with my social worker and worked on gathering the appropriate documents. \u00a0All while praying that, when the time was right, God would reveal to me the child I was supposed to pursue. \u00a0And on October 1, 2013, I saw her face for the first time.\u00a0 I knew from the second I saw her picture that this was the child I had been praying for.<\/p>\n

The next 6 months seemed to drag on forever as I finished preparations to bring her home. \u00a0And on March 23, 2014, A….. G….. Chunyi was placed in my arms to begin her forever life with me. \u00a0She was quiet, calm, and stoic the day we met. \u00a0But as our days together continued, her personality began to emerge, and it was evident that I had been entrusted with a spunky, spirited, determined, firecracker of a little girl! \u00a0My \u201cnew mom\u201d skills were put to quite the test as I tried to navigate the seas of toddlerhood with a child who often seemed to be smarter than me! \u00a0And a child who had more energy than should be humanly possible!<\/p>\n

Her and I eventually settled into a nice routine with our little duo. \u00a0She was figuring out what it meant to have a family, and I was figuring out how to manage life as a single mom. \u00a0But once she had been home for about a year, I started to get the feeling that I was supposed to adopt another child. \u00a0I put my brakes on again and wrestled with God. \u00a0Surely He couldn\u2019t be calling me to take another leap of faith and add another child to my family. \u00a0I was just figuring out how to make it with one! \u00a0And the one I had was a dynamo! \u00a0But the feeling persisted, and my conversations with God always left me thinking about the possibility of adopting again. \u00a0I prayed about this for another 6 months, and when AG had been home for about 18 months, I started the process to bring home a little sister.<\/p>\n

Right before Christmas (2015), my social worker sent me some possible files to review. \u00a0There was one little face that grabbed me. \u00a0Her special need was not something that I was readily considering. \u00a0In fact, it was on my list of \u201cI would need to seriously pray about this.\u201d \u00a0As I was praying about moving forward to pursue this child, God connected me with several people who had met her on trips to China, and I felt like their words to me were like whispers from God that I needed to cast my fears aside and take this leap of faith to bring her home. \u00a0Despite the unknowns about her future and development. \u00a0Despite my deepest fears. \u00a0He told me to trust Him. \u00a0Several days after Christmas, I was officially matched with E…. H…., and she became part of our family on June 6, 2016.<\/p>\n

E’s transition into our family was nothing short of traumatic. \u00a0She had been well loved at a foster center, and it was heart wrenching to hear her cries as she was taken from her nannies and placed (arching and screaming) into my arms. \u00a0During our two weeks in China, E completely rejected me. \u00a0If I so much as looked at her, it would often trigger intense crying. \u00a0She was scared, depressed, and broken. \u00a0As her new mama, I just wanted to hold her and love her and help her realize that everything was going to be okay. \u00a0But I was the last person she wanted to receive comfort from. \u00a0So I had to sit by and watch as my mother (bless her extreme heart!) took on all the care giving duties for my new daughter.<\/p>\n

Once we returned to the US and started getting settled into our new lives, things slowly improved. \u00a0E began allowing me to hold her and care for her, and we started seeing occasional smiles. \u00a0We have now been home for 10 weeks, and the broken little girl we met in China is now a (mostly) happy little girl who ADORES her big sister. \u00a0She is still very quiet and serious, but she is also observant and sensitive. \u00a0People who meet her often comment that she seems like an \u201cold soul\u201d inside her little body. \u00a0The past 12 weeks have probably been the hardest 12 weeks of my life. \u00a0But the hardship and heartache is worth it to see the life of my daughter being redeemed. \u00a0She is blossoming with the love and stability of a family.<\/p>\n

When God called me to take the leap of faith to adopt, I\u2019m so thankful that I didn\u2019t let fear keep my feet firmly rooted to the ground. \u00a0Because if I hadn\u2019t jumped when He said \u201cgo\u201d, I would\u2019ve missed the two greatest blessings in my life!<\/p>\n

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