“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8:26-28 (Message translation)
With four little ones ages five and under, our hearts were full, and yet we were aware that so many little ones didn’t experience that same fullness with safe and nurturing families. We were feeling called to open our home and our hearts as foster parents. We believed even if the child was to be wonderfully reunited with their biological parents, as least they would know, having experienced it in our home, that a loving family was possible. We dove in and a few months later we were licensed foster parents.
That summer of 2010, a friend in passing mentioned needing prayer for a little girl whose parental rights were being terminated after 18 months in the system and she’d need a forever home. I immediately felt my heart touched by God. It was clear He was saying this girl was meant for our family. My husband and I began to pray for trust and courage as we hadn’t gone into fostering with the expectation of adopting, but we were drawn to whatever God had next.
Knowing nothing about this little one, we began the process of exploring. We had eight weeks of pursuit being met by countless “no’s” by state employees due to being in another county, in a private agency instead of a public one and several other families pursuing the adoption. However, after those eight weeks, God finally opened the door. God had known from the beginning it would end in “yes.
We were now ready to take her in. He had prepared us mentally, physically and spiritually. Monday, we successfully transferred from our agency, which specialized in trauma to South Bend DCS. Tuesday, our little girls’ caseworker (who turned out to be a friend of my younger sister and had gone to the same youth group together) approved our family. The long awaited day had come. On August 21, our family met our newest member, Piper, a blonde, bright-eyed, joyful two-and-a-half-year-old. We were giddy and grateful!
The following week would include home visits and then overnights at our home. September 2 would be the beautiful day where we wouldn’t have to say goodbye any longer. She was here to stay! She fit right in with our crew and they loved her so beautifully. Six months later on March 30, the courts would legally recognize what our hearts already knew—she was ours! That day we changed her middle name to Faith to complete our journey of faith with this new miraculous addition!
Read Angela’s first birth story “Birth #1: Trusting in an Induction,” her second story “Birth #2: I Knew My Body,” her third story “Birth #3: Having Learned a Few Things” and her fourth story “Birth #4: A New Way of Thinking.” Stay tuned for Angela’s final birth story to come. Sign-up for email updates, so you don’t miss it.
You may manage your subscription options from your profile
Would you like to share your story? We’d love to hear it! Take a look at our “What’s Your Story?” post to find inspiration and direction.
Have you followed me on Pinterest yet? Connect with me over there! And find me on Instagram where my stream is flooded with happinesses each day.
Angela is a woman passionate about connected, committed families and encouraging others as a licensed counselor to intentionally choose ways to love well in marriage and parenting. She is grateful to have walked alongside her husband for 14 amazing years and feels privileged for being entrusted by God to care for their six kids. It’s a continuing journey of learning through the beauty of other people’s stories.
