It was years in the making.  An on and off process that seemed too big for my heart to handle at times.  The angles to consider, the legalities to observe, the hearts to guard, the mistakes to forgive and the missed deadlines that taught me to trust God’s plan for our family even when things were far from my control.  
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But often I was left wondering, would this work?  Could we gather all the necessary paperwork, proofs and signatures?  How many notaries would we pay before everything lined up perfectly or would our mailman deliver another manila envelope declining our efforts, asking for more info, more proof, more signatures for a third and forth time?

​I knew if this never lined up we wouldn’t be faulted for not trying.  We had followed the rules, collected the documents, tracked down signatures up to seven times over and hired notaries on the weekends.  
And really for us, for our story, this adventure was far more about a legal name than anything else.  Adoption begins in the heart and that my friends, happen long ago.  

The end goal was His, in His timing and under His grace.  Covid-19 couldn’t stop what needed to be accomplished on this day, it was finally time and my heart was so thankful.  And just like that, with masks adorned on everyone from the armed guards who kept us six feet apart to the Honorable Judge who asked for a final time if we would like him to sign the gold sealed document, it was finished.  

But truthfully, thankfulness came long before a set adoption date.  We knew what great things God had done for us by joining our three hearts 12 years ago.  This was simply another stone in our family’s foundation.  ​

So I write this today for you with the process that feels only like pain, I promise it’s purifying.  
And though it might seem like you’re a sitting duck with no visible steps to take and vulnerable on all sides, sometimes the way we move forward is by standing still in faith. 

And for you who feels as though nothing whole could ever come from your broken heart and your broken past, it’s God’s great pleasure to reset and replace the cracked and loosened bricks of your foundation.  You can leave behind what once was and press into God’s redeeming power for what lies ahead.  Take courage in God alone.

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14