I’m not a giant fan of frogs. One summer, I visited Texas
with my cousins and saw a lot of huge, flat frog bodies all over the roads. EW,
gross!! A lady I went to church with during high school loved frogs. I might be
wrong, but I think it was because of the acronym F.R.O.G., Fully Relying On God.
I’ll tell you what. A year ago, I had to do just that. And if I hadn’t, I would
have gone insane.
God gave us Kayla
last year and our life has never been the same (in an awesome way!). I noticed
recently that those touched by Jesus in the Bible were constantly sharing the
great things he had done. I feel it’s my responsibility to share what Jesus did
for us. How he gave Jon and I our little angel…
This miracle started at teen camp ’11. The adult class that
year was about the will of God. All week I was struggling with what God’s will
was for my life. Should I pursue a master’s degree? Should I pursue adoption
(at the time, Jon and I had agreed to start the adoption process in July). I
kept thinking, “What if I start a master’s degree and then get a baby? My dream
was to stay home with my children. What would I do? Just quit in the middle of
my program? What if God’s plan was to never give me children? Or at least not
for many years to come? I was lost in confusion.
A kind woman at camp saw my fear and addressed it. She told
me of her testimony, and we prayed for God’s guidance. She prayed that God
would open the door he wanted me to walk through. I finally and fully let go of
my burden and rested it in my Heavenly Father’s hands.
Then it happened! God opened the door. The VERY NEXT DAY, I
received a call from my old boss at Faith Lutheran, telling me she knew,
through a vine of people, of a girl due in August that was looking for an
adoptive family. She gave me and my husband the girl’s lawyer’s number. When I
got back in town, we set up a meeting. The night before we met, Satan gave me
the first temptation. Should we be honest about being Christian? What if she
doesn’t like Christians? Turns out, one of the reasons they picked us was because we are Christians. Thank God we chose
to be authentic!
Once she chose us, we had three months to prepare for a child. Crazy, right? Talk about God’s
provision! Adoption isn’t cheap, but God kept providing exactly what we
needed!!
I was attacked often during those months. I kept doubting
and fretting. Should I buy baby things? What if the birth mother changed her mind?
There were times I let Satan replace my joy with fear, times I leaned heavily
on my Godly friend’s encouragement. I eventually took the leap of faith and
furnished Kayla’s room. I let go of the fear and focused on God’s goodness and
faithfulness.
Then the day came. The birth mother was to be induced. We
showed up at the hospital and were given our own room (Kirksville’s hospital
rocks!). While waiting for Kayla’s birth, Satan threw us another curve ball. We
received an anonymous letter warning us against the adoption. The letter
contained many accusations, including the birth mother’s drug history. At first
Jon and I didn’t know what to think. Jon spoke with his family for advice. We
came to the conclusion that the letter contained no new information. God had
provided all the information via encounters with the birth mother and her
lawyer’s disclosures. We discarded the letter and awaited our baby.
Then Kayla was born!!! I got to hold my little girl for the
first time! My heart ached with joy and dread the whole time. Could I let her
go if her birth mom changed her mind? I wanted to just grab her and run, but
that obviously wouldn’t have ended well. So, I kept my cool. We spent as much
time as we could with her, but allowed the birth family as much time as they
needed. So hard…
Especially when the birth grandma came in to tell us that
the birth mom was starting to lose courage. What?? I might lose my baby?? She
didn’t seem convinced that I was attaching to Kayla either. I was, I reassured
her; I was simply nervous and scared.
Those 48 hours were the longest I ever endured. At the final
hour, I was a complete ball of nerves. I was surrounded by family and friends,
but my eyes kept creeping back to the clock. Had the lawyer arrived? Did the
birth mother sign the papers? Will we walk away devastated or parents?
Well, you all know this story has a happy ending! We are
proud parents to a beautiful Kayla Irene Easterwood, who has turned a year old
today. I am so thankful to God, for his power, his grace, and his faithfulness.
Without Fully Relying On God, we would
have had no hope.
GOD IS SO
GOOD!!!!
