Our Adoption Process; Phase Two:

My heart is so fueled right now.  My spirit is so anxious.  My mind is a tad overwhelmed.  My prayers are huge, redundant, & eager.  

Let me begin with my adoption story.  I'll make it short, because really... I just want to share with you the journey we are beginning on!!!

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

Romans 8:14-16.

I am an adopted daughter of THE One who created stars. taste buds. ginormous trees. paints sunrises.... No need to go on with this list, those alone are amazing enough.  That artist, creator, inventor, designer, genius scientist, ultimate physician, & miracle doer is MY Father. He adopted me. Chose me. Even knowing my ugliness, my shortcomings, failures, rebellion, & just covered in filth... He scooped me up, with the most gentle of hands & words, & with the most sincere love saying, "You, Kellye. You are worthy of My love. You are deserving of healing. I will listen to you, hold you, give you peace, pour out my unconditional love, & I will reveal myself to you. I will woe you. You are worthy. Here is my Grace. Take it. Be consumed by it. Know, child, that there is nothing you can do that will ever take away my love for YOU." It'd be foolish to not excitedly melt into those arms.  

So, here I am today... in those arms of my Father, being ignited to do what HE did for me, for others. 

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-6

(((That little tidbit up there, my adoption story, really does SO little justice to the beauty of that story. I was so incredibly broken. So lost, hurting, & numb. Because of Him adopting me... I am filled with emotions (sometimes over the top, I know), broken for the broken hearted, filled with peace, & just fueled by the Gospel. Which, if we all were.... our world would be gold. Even the atheist, agnostic, Wiccan, & Muslim could agree that if we loved as Jesus loved, our world would not be full of the things it is OVERFLOWING with. Wake up, world. Wake up.)))

Before Josh & I got married we dreamed together of what we both wanted for a family.  This conversation was one I walked away from thinking, "I could seriously marry that man."  We both want a large family. Lots of kids.  Racially diverse. & just have one big mixing pot of a home! 

Josh has a fire for the Gospel in his soul, deep in his heart like nobody I have ever encountered.  

Our desire & dreams to adopt are not out of some, "oh, let's do good" mindset. 
The Gospel compels us to.  We are told to.  It is not something that was merely "put on our heart"!  As Christians, we all have a role in this:

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17.

If every Christian family adopted one child here in America, our orphanages & foster systems would look drastically different. Heck, if every person who claimed to follow Jesus adopted... we wouldn't have orphanages. 

Admittedly, this is me judging those who aren't open to the idea of adopting. I can be pretty harsh. (don't be mad. keep reading.)  ...... A big thanks to Charlsie, a friend who has recently gone through the adoption process & is mentoring my heart through this, for opening my eyes to the different roles we all can play, & should play in it.  (Yep. I said mentoring, hope you don't mind the official title I just gave you.) 

Through a lengthy & heart filled conversation she boldly said to me, "We all have a role. Some people it is to adopt, some to foster, & some to support those doing those things through prayer, support, encouragement, & monetary support." (that's a paraphrase. it was something like that.)

SO, tonight was Phase Two. (Phase One was the dream of adopting.) We went to an informational meeting at an adoption organization here in town, which presented details of the domestic and international adoption processes. With us was a married couple who have become our sweet, Gospel loving friends here in Chattanooga. (Ben & Tina, parents to two 2.5 year old twin boys.)  ((we are SO blessed by friends that are like-minded!!! so blessed!))

Here's what I wrapped up very carefully in my little, informational to-go box: 

-- Adoption is costly, but doable. And, there are grants for it! And some unnamed man who, if you cannot gather funds, they will call & he will write a check.  Mystery Man, you are a saint.

-- This particular agency does mostly newborn, domestic adoptions.

--International adoptions are A LOT more pricey, & the time frame is lengthier, & even more unpredictable.

-- The process really is a lot like pregnancy: it's long, overwhelming at times, it's really not much like you thought it would be, you will never truly understand the emotional toll it takes until you are knee deep in it, & you will need the support of a community/family to get through it...and to to do it well.

--It is desperately needed. Desperately.

-- We can do this.

-- I still have a lot of questions.

--There are stories of adoption being sealed within 6 months of beginning, & others can take up to 6 years!

Looks like our next step is to pay a fee, & begin an application process! I will go into more details about the logistical side in a later post. 

So....I just wanted to share with you, world, a new journey we are beginning! 

As I sit & pick the brains & hearts of friends around me who have been down this path, I want to open up to anyone interested our journey.  From the dreaming phase, to the day, God willing, we are holding a new baby in our arms...gently whispering, "You are safe. Loved. Worthy. & will have our unconditional love, always. Welcome to the family." 

Here we go!