Amy J. Bennett

Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

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31 years ago I was born

29 years ago my only sibling was born

24 years ago I lived with several foster babies as siblings

11 years ago I got married

7 years ago I had my first child

5 years ago I had my second child

4 years and 358 days ago family and friends started asking when we were having another child

4 years and 358 days ago and several times since Scott said with great sarcasm he would never have another baby but I was welcome to adopt a 3 year old

3 years ago Emma started asking for a little brother

2.5 years ago I attended youth camp which featured Spur58

2 years ago I started following Aaron (Spur58’s lead singer) and Jamie Ivey’s blog

2 years ago and since then, Scott and I have been supporting Real Hope for Haiti, the place that the Ivey’s son and daughter was staying

2 years ago I started a blog that has since provided extra income each month

1 year ago and off and on I started secretly finding myself a little disappointed when I wasn’t pregnant each month

7 months ago we joined a church which had a heavy emphasis on adoption from the pastor down

2 months ago we made contact with one of our foster baby siblings

2 months ago I told my mom maybe we’d consider fostering a baby if I chose not to work after my contract ends at the end of 2010

1 month ago I watched on as our best friends adopted their first child

2 weeks ago Haiti had an earthquake

10 days ago I watched images come in, read reports from the Ivey’s of their son possibly coming home unexpectedly because of the earthquake and wondered how I could help, including adopting one of these sweet children with no home

1 week ago Life Unexpected debuted on TV, a show about a child who spent her life in foster care.  A show that I started a blog about.

1 week ago Scott says seriously “We should adopt a child from Haiti” and it stopped me in my tracks

6 days ago Friday Night Lights aired an episode where a character aborted her baby.  It affected me deeply and all I could think was she could have saved the baby’s life and given him/her up for adoption!

5 days ago we discuss adopting a child from Haiti with the kids.  They are excited.

4 days ago I do some research and find out we may have to be 35 years old before we can begin the process

3 days ago was Sanctity of Life Sunday

3 days ago our pastor preached “God’s grace is best seen by us”

2 days ago Scott, unbeknown to me, emailed our pastor about adoption

1 day ago I listened on American Idol as a teenager talked about getting lost in foster care his whole life and just wanted to be loved and it about broke my heart.  I turned to Scott and said we should adopt.  He doesn’t respond.

Today Scott forwarded me the email to our pastor about adoption and I realize he’s much more serious than even I thought

Right now these things that once seem unrelated suddenly seem like a web that is being weaved.

Both of us feel a little LOT unsure and maybe like we’re going crazy.  Actually Scott’s subject in his email was “HELP!!!”  I asked God if we should (who have the means, desire, etc) adopt and I’m pretty sure He laughed and said that was the stupidest question I ever asked Him (paraphrasing there).  Should we adopt?  Pretty sure it’s all over Scripture we should take care of orphans.

This kind of scares the crap out of me.  But God usually does.

As you know, this doesn’t just affect us.  It will affect everyone around us.  We’re not taking this lightly.  We don’t want to ignore what God might have been whispering for years.  But it would mean a lot of changes. A lot.  And I don’t know if we’re supposed to adopt from Haiti or this is just a way for us to take a serious look at adoption in general.  Or maybe this is just a bunch of random coincidences!  I don’t know!

Yesterday, today and tomorrow God knows so please pray He shows us clearly what (or what not) to do.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I will definitely be praying with you guys! The one thing I have known since I was 5 yrs old is that one day I would adopt. And one day I will!
    .-= Becky´s last blog ..Tonight =-.

  2. Ok that brought me to tears…and my eyes rolled at the “random coincidences”. Not really random.

  7. Y’all know the struggles we have been through over the years. When we decided to adopt, I looked back at our lives and realized that God was setting us up for this moment the whole time. We would pray for God to bless us with a child, and God would bless us with money. Not bragging, but it was frustrating at the time. We were like, “Thank you God, but this isn’t what we asked for.” Then the unknown cause of infertility. There isn’t anything wrong with either of us. So 2 years ago we went ahead with the adoption process. 3.5 months ago we found out were picked by a birth mom to adopt her baby, and 1 month ago Kellan was born and he is here today. Looking back, God had his hands over everything. We just chose not to listen for the longest time until we decided He knew best. If we had a child biologically in the beginning, Kellan might not have happened. I know it is scary to think about, trust me when we sat down that first time with the adoption agency I was scared. We are here to talk if you need. Your feelings are normal, and nothing is random at all. Sorry so long, just wanted to respond! 🙂

  8. Amy, My thoughts and prayers are with you, Scott and the girls! God will lead you in the right direction. I have 3 nieces and nephews that all 3 came to my Sister at birth through Foster Care. I am so lucky to have them in my life. My sister was a foster parent for many,many years. I hope that everything turns out the way you hope.

  9. How amazing it is to see God unfolding His plan for your lives right before our eyes, God is awesome. Just listen and follow…my prayers are with you, Scott, Emma and Lexi. May God continue to pour out His blessings upon each of you.Can not wait to see what God does next!

  10. As you know, I was adopted as was my brother 2 years before me. My parents had 2 biological children, then adopted 2, then had another biological child. I was incredibly blessed with fantastic parents and while I always knew I was adopted, I never felt apart or different from my siblings.

    I honestly cannot think of a better family than yours for a child from Haiti (if that’s what you choose) or somewhere closer to home. I think it is wonderful that you both have your hearts open to the idea of adoption and will be praying for all of you while you work through your questions. You really are an amazing woman!

  13. Just stumbbled on your blog…we are in the process of adopting from Uganda. I know how scary it can be..so many unknowns…we are four months in the process and I am constantly looking to God to carry us in this journey. You are right, we don’t really have to ask if it is His will…All over scripture. He does have the perfect plan and He will reveal it in due time!!

Trackbacks

  1. […] I haven’t blogged much about it.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve said a word about it since a year ago.  But we talk a lot about it, are discussing it with people, making plans.  We’re still […]

  2. […] off together on a journey, with God’s warm presence over our path.  We didn’t decide and announce we’d adopt until late January this year but this shows he’s been in the picture for much longer. […]