Our answer was No. It’s still shocking to me that I said that.


Our social worker visited us yesterday for our first post adoption meeting. Our visits with her always go by so fast. She’s just that kind of person that you enjoy talking to and one hour seems like 5 minutes. When she left I started thinking about our journey. We first met Shannon in May of 2007 when we started the adoption process. On her first visit which is the BIG visit where she gets tons of information about us. Its two hours long. She asks everything you can imagine. I was scared to death never having done this before, but Shannon completely put me at ease. We enjoyed talking to her. It was a great visit. Not one bit uncomfortable until ……she asked us if we were considering a child with special needs. Rob immediately said “No, not at all. I don’t think we can handle a child with special needs. “I chimed in also saying “we would rather adopt a healthy child.” That was it. It jumped out of my mouth before I even had a chance to think about. Later on in the visit she asked again and again. I found that strange, but we answered the same way. After Shannon left Rob and I were really uncomfortable about our answer. We didn’t know what “special needs” meant. We had an idea but didn’t even give it a consideration. We knew nothing of the Waiting Children. We didn’t research it with our agency. We made a decision without praying about it, consulting our agency. Nothing. Nope. No special needs. We want a normal child. Ridiculous, right? What is normal anyway?

Clearly we were clueless. Even though we felt convicted of our decision to not pursue a special needs child, we didn’t change our minds. We began the endless paperwork and started pursuing a non special needs adoption. The Lord obviously had another plan. After Shannon left yesterday I was doing a puzzle with my girls. We giggled. We laughed. I love to hear them laugh. I looked at both of them. Both are special needs. Both have this amazing joy that can only come from the Lord. Both treasures to Rob and me. I could not imagine life without them. When I see them I’m so taken by their beauty. Amazed by their love for me. Amazed at their ability to overcome the heart break of abandonment. Marianna hasn’t been with us two months even, yet it seems as though she’s been my daughter all along. I thanked God for them. I thought to myself had He not opened our eyes to special needs orphans, we would be missing out on this. This incredible family that we now have. To think we could’ve missed this. I don’t think there are coincidences. I do think though that people just sometimes choose to not listen to the Lord and insist on doing it their way. We could’ve done it our way. Our way was no good though. His plan is always better. I’m so grateful for the email from my agency on June 27, 2007. The email that contained a precious Wang Ting. I looked into the beautiful dark eyes and I knew instantly that she was my daughter. That email eventually led us to Hidden Treasures Home and in time led us to Marianna. There are no mistakes. This was clearly God ordained and absolutely what He planned for us. Is it hard sometimes? Yep. It’s never more than we can handle though. There’s no way in the world the Lord would give us more than we can handle. It stretches me, sharpens me. It means that I lean on Him more and less on myself which is the direction I want to be going in anyway. Izzy and Mari have taught us so much already in just a short time. I consider their special needs a blessing now. I know that sounds weird. Of course, if I had to choose for them I wouldn’t want them to have had to go through the pain and suffering that they did, but at the same time I know the world is being changed by these little girls because of what they’ve been through. Because of their special needs they interact with Cardiologist, Orthopedist, and Prosthetic Specialist etc. I see people being blessed by these two. It’s a beautiful thing to see the Lord work through them. People are inspired by them. The joy of the Lord shines through them. It inspires me every day. So many people are out there considering special needs adoption. They are not sure if they can handle it. I encourage you to pray hard and research all the different special needs and open your heart to it before you make a decision. The Lord will lead you to your child. Rest assured. You will know her/him when you see her/him. There are no mistakes. And if you trust the Lord to guide you He will make your paths straight. He certainly straightened our paths out. It’s His promise after all:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6