Prepared for the Blessing
This journey of trying to raise Adrian as part of our family started before he was even born in 2011. Sometimes the answer to prayer is, “Not yet.” His parents were young, scared, and didn’t really want to be parents. Matt and I were a little older, and offered to raise him multiple times throughout the years, but the answer was always, “No.” During these first few years, Matt and I weren’t believers. We were incredibly discouraged and didn’t have hope.
Fast forward to the fall of 2016. We started attending Ridgecrest and Matt was saved and baptized. I was saved and baptized at the beginning of 2017. Attending a church like Ridgecrest, which has a heart for orphan care, spurred me to begin praying that God would somehow make a way for Adrian to join our family. For years I felt like we were still getting a “No.” Turns out it was just, “Not yet.”
When Adrian had first come to stay with us, we worked to get guardianship. Our Small Group was continually praying for us and encouraging us through all of the processes. We had a year of waiting, and more, “Not yet.” On July 4, 2020, Adrian’s mother came to take him back from us. This was an awful day in our house, and the weeks that followed were incredibly hard. Adrian was away from us for a month. We didn’t know where he was, if he was safe, or if he was being cared for. This was a hard season of waiting and not knowing. Without the support of our Small Group and church friends, I don’t know how we would have made it through that month. Praise God we were granted guardianship and got him back!
Since receiving guardianship, we have been working toward adoption. When a child isn’t placed in foster care, the state doesn’t help pay for any of the process. "Praise God for Ridgecrest," is all I can say! We had a fundraiser, and we couldn’t have pulled that off without our friends! Everyone came together to help, people donated so generously, and we were able to pay our lawyer in FULL!
Adrian is now part of our family. It has been a long time coming. There have been many, “Not yet,” “Just wait,” and “I’m shaping you to be ready” answers from God these last two years. Adrian’s response when asked his thoughts on being adopted was, “I’m really happy and excited to be adopted. I am happy to live here with you guys forever! We have a bigger house, lots of food, and water.” Sometimes we have to go through the hard places to be prepared for the blessing!