The weaving of our story: Part 1

Welcome to our blog! This is where we'll keep you updated on what God has been weaving into our lives these days regarding adoption and orphan care. Our story is not a beginning or an end of God's call to orphan care, but rather one thread in His beautiful masterpiece, so we hope you'll follow our story with hearts ready to embrace how God wants to weave your thread into His grand plan to set the lonely in families!

We would love to tell you our whole story up to now, so we'll break it into two sections so you just might read the whole thing. Grab a quick cup of coffee and read how our story has unfolded, as told by Mae:

From the day we were married, though children were not in "our" immediate plans, God wasted no time in weaving others' stories into our own to bring about His plans for our family. While I was teaching the 3-4 year Sunday School class at Brookhaven in the early days of our marriage, a couple families from our church followed the Lord's leading into foster care. Week after week, I would stare into the eyes of these beautiful children thinking, "Wow, I'm so glad the [insert family names] are being the hands and feet of Christ and loving these kids!"

During the few years I taught, I had about six different foster children come through my class. I absolutely LOVED each one of these kids, and through one little blonde-haired boy who gripped my heart from his first week with his foster family, God began not-so-gently tugging on my heart to do "something" for the fatherless "someday." At this same time, He began burdening Daniel's heart as well. After a stirring sermon on caring for orphans, we came home and sat in our bedroom for hours, talking about how the Lord had stirred our hearts for children that morning. We even tossed around the idea of becoming foster parents ourselves right away but just didn't think the timing was right. For over a year though, the burden just simply laid on a shelf in the closet in our hearts as we went on with life as usual.

The following year, a couple in our church, Nathan and Jade, whom we barely knew at the time, were called to adopt a boy from Uganda. This was the first international adoption we'd ever known of personally, so we were intrigued by this endeavor. The Lord, however, was more than "intrigued" with their obedience to His call and had amazing plans in store for them. Their journey was marked with difficulty yet amazing, powerful displays of God's faithfulness, even including the salvation of Jade's dad while in Uganda! Through each step of faith they took, the Lord kept tugging on my heart especially to get involved with their efforts. Financial support seemed obvious to us, so we began with responding in that way. But God had so much more for me to learn.

Prayer was no new thing to me growing up in a Christian home. But this time God taught me to pray in a way I'd never known before. Each time there was a court date for their adoption, God woke me at just the right time (usually around 2 or 3 a.m.) to pray for their need. For the first time in my life, I even fasted several times for this family. The Lord taught me so much about Himself during their days in Uganda and so much about staying alert in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ and how He answers those prayers! To that point, I had never connected so deeply with the Lord in prayer or with the need of other believers. The shelved burden for orphans was quickly placed at the forefront of my heart, mind, and soul as Samuel (now Ezra) was welcomed home months after the first court date.

During Ezra's adoption process, Daniel and I started feeling nearly certain that orphan care (likely adoption) would be in our future. The question became not "if" but rather "when" and "how." We made this a matter of prayer but soon found out we were expecting and welcomed our son Nathan in March 2011. I made the transition from working at World Gospel Mission to staying at home to care for Nathan, and in doing so, felt completely lost in what I should be "doing with my life" outside of being a mom. Thanks to an amazing MOMS group at Brookhaven, I was encouraged that being a mom is a mission of its own, and a very important one at that! But the Lord did indeed have extra plans for me as He kept tugging at my heart to seek Him!

For several months I pulled back from some volunteer responsibilities I'd held at Brookhaven so I could more diligently seek the Lord's desire for my family. After months of seeking the Lord, God burned in my heart yet again a deep passion for children needing families, this time resonating so strongly I knew I had to do something NOW. Just a week after being sure He was leading me to pursue orphan care, Brookhaven announced a brand-new ministry called Embrace: Arms Wide Open to Receive a Child. We jumped on-board right away.

To be continued...