It wasn't luck...

Four weeks ago today in a overly warm room in Southern China, a well bundled 10 ½ month old baby girl was handed to me. In the few seconds that it took for the orphanage director to check our travel approval letter, our lives were forever changed! I immediately began to cry as the enormity of the moment washed over me, but my sweet little girl just looked on somewhat in a state of shock.

Now, 28 days later, I find myself in amazement at the entire situation. Some people have told me that I'm lucky to have missed the pain of childbirth, others that we're lucky to have missed out on the countless sleepless nights with a newborn and still others that we're lucky to have had a “guarantee” that our child would be birth defect free. Okay, fair enough, I guess that all those statements are somewhat true. But I would say that the best luck was getting this child as part of our family, only we know that it wasn't luck...

God has His mighty hand in this placement process all along. What humbles me the most about having not just any child, but Kylie as a daughter is seeing more clearly now the path that God brought us down to get here. There were so many ways that we could have messed His plan up, but we were faithful to Him and therefore greatly rewarded!

We could have pursued medical science in order to become parents. But after serious prayer, we felt that God was saying that wasn't the plan He had for us. Then there was the decision between international and domestic adoption. While the possibility of bringing a child home from the hospital was enticing, again we felt (and thankfully listened) God leading us overseas in the search for our missing family member. We then had to consider a country and after several weeks of prayer were led strongly to China. When we submitted our dossier, the current time to referral was about 6 months. One year later we felt stuck in a holding pattern and heard of many people switching to other countries (and were even approached by people we knew and asked if we had considered switching). Again, we felt that God was saying to be still and wait. And so we did.

And two years and one day after we submitted our application to America World Adoption Association (and six years and two months after we thought we were ready for parenthood) we found out exactly why we needed to wait. God could see all along that Kylie was coming, we humbly thank Him for giving us what we needed to wait for her!

Now our trip to China seems an eternity ago ~ rather than 2 weeks ~ not because I'm forgetting any part of it, but because it seems that Kylie has always been with us. Oh China will always be part of my heart! When I look at this precious gift, how could it not be? And for those of you that know me well, you will perhaps find it as fitting as I did that the red thread from my bracelet slipped out sometime last spring (very close to the day of Kylie's birth) and the heart charm fell off while we were in Guangzhou! So yes, a part of my heart will always be there too...

To close, I must share what a woman that I used to sing beside in the choir at church shared with me yesterday. “You know, I've been watching how Kylie is with you two, it seems like she's been yours all along! Have you considered the scripture that says that God knew you before you were knit together in your mother's womb? I'm thinking that God knit Kylie for your family.”

All I can say to that is amen! Aside from Him, she is our joy!