Prevailing Purpose

This Mother’s Day I have been reflecting on how the Lord chose to put our family together. It doesn’t begin the way you might expect, with a conversation between a husband and wife deciding that they were ready to have a baby. Instead, it begins with two friends on a first date.

When I was in my college the Lord had began to grow in me a desire to adopt and when my now husband, Rex, and I began dating, we found that it was a mutual calling. Although we were finishing school in Mississippi and in a very different season of life, the possibility of adoption just an inkling in our hearts, the Lord was already at work. As our relationship grew and we began to dream of our future family, a tiny, brown-eyed baby was born two states away in Texas.

Over the next two years we married, moved to Southeast Texas, and ran face first into infertility. With the understanding that we were always going to adopt, we quickly jumped into the process. As we filled out paperwork and talked through endless hypothetical situations, we were certain that we knew how this adoption would go. But “just in case,” we also decided to become licensed to foster. After all, it was just one extra course in our training.

As I am sure you guessed, that small decision would change our lives forever. After ten months of paperwork and waiting we got a call about a short-term foster placement. A three, almost four year old boy who needed a safe place to stay for just a few weeks. Although fostering was not exactly in our plans, we couldn’t imagine saying “no.” We already had a nursery set up, and in one or two quick adjustments it would be ready for a toddler.

Just a few days later he entered our home and by the evening we deeply loved this precious boy. Over the next few months his situation began to change, moving from short to long term and eventually to adoption. The details of these months belong to my son and thus will only be shared by him if/when he is ready, but what I will say is that they were not all easy. Many were filled with uncertainty, seemingly endless amounts of waiting, and emotional whiplash. I would not consider myself to be naturally anxious, but there were several months that were marked by sleepless nights and racing thoughts.

Finally, things became clear and in July 2023 an earthly judge declared what God had always intended, he was our son-forever. But our family wasn’t done growing. In the midst of the months uncertainty, we were reminded again of God’s sovereignty. Just eleven days after the adoption was finalized, I gave birth to our second son and we became a family of four.

To us, it was an almost three year process to get to that moment. But God had been working on our behalf for much longer. Our oldest son was born almost two years before we were married, and shortly after we welcomed him into our home, God created another life to be his brother. While we were praying for and pursuing just one son, he was preparing the way for two.

Nothing about the journey went as planned, but the result was sweeter than anything we could have imagined for ourselves. I am certain that there is so much more ahead for our family, but this part of our story is one that I hold near to my heart. And now our sons are, quite literally, living reminders to me of God’s faithfulness and Ephesians 3:20-21:

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

I have debated for quite a while on how, when, or if I should share our story. But I chose this specific time of year because Mother’s Day is so complicated for so many, myself included. If you find yourself in a season of waiting, my prayer is that you would be encouraged through our story. I cannot pretend to know what you have been through or where you are headed, but I can testify that even in the hardest seasons of heartache, God is near. Through anxiety and fear, he provides peace. And in the long, lonely, agonizing days of waiting, he is already at work.

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