11/11/2012

Our First glimpse of Lucy


Wednesday, October 17th, 2012

On the morning of Wednesday, October 17th, a precious little girl was added to to the waiting children list on Lifeline's website.  This is the first glimpse I had of that little girl..


She was listed as "Steffie" age 3 and her Special Need was listed as "Nerve Damage in both ears"
We immediately requested to put a hold on little Steffie. This meant that we would have 2 weeks to decide if we wanted to pursue her by sending an LOI (letter of intent) to China to request that we be able to adopt her. I had a quick conversation with my friend Andrea at Lifeline(our agency).. I call her my friend because that is what she has become! She and her partner Amy have the incredible job of praying over the China families and matching them with the children that come available according to the Special Needs checklist each family fills out. (More on Andrea and lifeline in another post, because they certainly deserve their own post!! ) She emailed me Steffie's file and I was also able to see a sweet little video of her.  Thus, a seed of hope was immediately planted in my heart that this may very well be the little girl who would one day become our daughter! 

After talking with Andrea that morning, I stepped into the shower and began dreaming about this little one.  Hearing impaired was a need that I had not really considered, but now that I had this little face before me, I thought, "Why not?!"  My mind was going 90 miles an hour with so many thoughts:

I need to learn sign language.
She may never hear my voice.
She may never hear worship music. :(
She has never ever heard a sound.
It is really loud at our house, but to her it won't be. :)
We will learn ways to love and minister to her that don't include talking.
Even though she cannot physically hear OUR voices, she can still, and will still hear HIS voice.
She will probably be scared when she meets us.
We are up for this challenge.
It will be a blessing to us.
She will teach us new things.. 
She is on the other side of the world and has no idea that a mom in a different time zone has seen her picture, knows about her, cares for her, and is falling in love with her.  

I envisioned her playing with our other kids, running in the grass, laughing and falling in heaps on the ground.  I envisioned Zoe holding up flash cards to teach her letters and words. I envisioned Finn smiling and laughing at her.  I envisioned Henry wrapping her in a full body hug.

All this and I had not even talked to Sean.

You see, just the night before, I had had a mini moment of panic, where I'd called our Home Study Social Worker and thrown out all my hopes and fears... And asked her opinion on whether or not we should put our adoption on hold while we got settled into our other property so that when she came home she would not have to transition to more than one home.  My main concern was dragging her through all that transition. She said that she had another family in a similar situation, but that she wasn't too concerned about it, because it may be good for an adoptee to be part of moving to the new place with the family.. and feeling part of the new start together as a family. Interesting point. But she said to take some time and pray about it.  To see how God would lead.

Who would have known it would be the very next morning?? God doesn't mess around.  God loves adoption.  It is His first priority. He knew that our daughter was on the other side of the world, and he knew the night before as I was having that conversation, that just ONE DAY LATER, He would reveal our daughter to us.  I HAD NO IDEA!!

I stepped out of the shower just 30 minutes after placing a hold on "Steffie".. I checked my texts and had a text from my dear friend Amy that read "Can't get you off of my heart in my quiet time this morning.  Praying for whatever plans God has for you today, sweet Laura"  This is a sweet sweet mom friend and spiritual encourager for me.  She has also experienced the miracle of adoption.  Here we are, not yet finished with our Home Study.. no where NEAR thinking God had a match for us yet, and God lays me on Amy's heart at the very time we were catching our first glimpse of "Steffie!" Confirmation. Ya think!?

Yet I was still wondering if after the mini moment of panic the night before, what Sean would say.  Would he think I was crazy? I texted him to call me when he had a chance.  Then I pondered all these things in my heart.

I was surprised when I talked to Sean to hear him say, "This is the LORD!"  "We prayed and He answered, by opening this door the very next day."  That is one thing I love about my man.  He is a faith person.  He recognizes when God is speaking and moving.  I was completely relieved.  I was worried he would think I was crazy for wanting to pursue this precious little one.  Instead, he immediately recognized it as the Lord's plan.

After all of the events of the day, I couldn't get something off of my mind.  For many years I have struggled with the desire to add to our family through the miracle of adoption.  I have strived. I have cried. I have wondered and waited and tried to control and figure out.  I have scoured the internet for faces on Rainbow kids and other waiting children sites.  I have watched countless families adopt and thought, "When will it be our turn?" Yet this day, the Lord put this precious little face in front of me without any effort of my own.  He initiated.  He opened the door. He opened our hearts to this specific one. He answered our prayer. He confirmed it through other believers. And all we had to do was walk through the door.

Isn't God Amazing?





14 comments:

  1. I fell in love with her from the first moment I saw her little bitty face on your page. I. can. not. wait. to. hold. her. She is BEAUTIFUL!!!

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    1. Love. YOU. YOU ARE AMAZING. Can't wait to introduce her to her aunt Caroline!

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  2. She really is adorable, Laura. And it sounds like God has done a deep work in your hearts to confirm her coming arrival. Be blessed, my friend.

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  3. Oh Laura, she is precious! Most certainly a "God thing" for her to be placed in your path. You are all truly blessed!

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    1. Thanks, Val. Finn missed you today. He folded his hands and closed his eyes in his care seat and said a prayer for Ms. Val and Ms. Chrissy his Tee-chas. :)

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  4. YES!!! so exciting!!! i wanna learn sign language with you!! :)))

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    1. C'mon!! I'll let you know as soon as I find a class!

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  5. The McEntyre's' can't wait to meet little Lucy! XOXO

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  6. So excited to see that you have a REFERRAL!!!!! All of this sounds so right and so beautiful. We will be praying and watching with you guys for what God will do!!! xxoo from Florida

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  7. Yes, amazing indeed. These stories never ever get old. Such a beautiful telling of your sweet story and of God's great plan. We did sign language with both Sophia and Claire. Will have to refresh ourselves to say a few words to little Lucy.

    May God bless you with a speedy rest of this crazy process!

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  8. This is amazing and awesome! I can't wait to see how it all plays out! God is amazing and His timing is always perfect! We are adopting a little girl, too...who will also be "Lucy." I love how that name means Light!! We don't know who our Lucy is yet but hopefully we will know in a few months! I'll be praying for y'all in your journey!

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    1. Oh that is so awesome!! Cannot wait to see who your Lucy is! I have also hear "daughter of light" and am going to write more about her name soon. Blessings on your adoption journey!!

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