Two Sides to Every Story
First of all let me apologize. You'd figure someone with a Bachelors degree in Speech Communication would at least know how to use spellcheck. Ugh. I cringe at the simple spelling errors in my last post. Oh, well. I'll do better.
Now, on to the story. I was writing from my heart. I read it about 20 times before I hit the "publish" button. Something was missing. Oh, yeah, it was my point. I missed my point. I guess I got distracted.
I've been on both sides of the boat. I've heard all of the stories. I've heard the comments. Even if it was just from a look. Looks can say a lot. Like the time we were eating at the chinese restaurant by our house. The waitress was asking Leah how old she was, where she went to school, etc. I promptly (and nicely) told her that we homeschooled. The utter disgust on her face was an understatement. In her broken English, she said "How can she have friends? I think that no good for a girl." My brother-in-law injected his comments and her face grew more sour. We finally had to agree to disagree.
That look. I get it sometimes when I'm asked "When are you going to have more kids?" And I say "We're just waitng on the Lord." I know most people don't mean any harm, but I see it. Its almost if they're saying, "Don't you know how that works?" You don't need "The Lord"". Oh, but I do. I need Him every day. Every hour. Every minute.
Oh, the look. I also get it when I tell people my story, and they say, "Just be glad you have a child." That comment hurts like a dart. I AM glad. I AM thankful. But that doesn't make it any easier. I pray constantly for those I know may never have a biological child. For the woman that wil never feel a child move in her womb. For the woman that will never look at a child and see her eyes, or her smile, or her mannerisms. My heart aches for them.
Well, I told you that story so I could tell you this one.....
All of the things that God has put in our path, the layoffs, Leah's surgeries, deaths of loved ones, my daddy being burned, my mama having emergency surgeries, being in debt to our eyeballs, the infertility, all the little hardships along the way, have led us and shaped us into who we are today. If we had jumped into adoption back then I think we would have failed. We were not mature enough, spiritually or mentally. As I sit and reflect on how GOOD God is, I cry. He brough us through each one of those times. I'm so thankful for His grace.
I see now that God has been preparing us. Me more than anyone. He has been preparing us for this journey. This new path. This next chapter of life. I understand it may not be easy. All of those little leaps of faith that we have had over the past years have led us to the point of taking one HUGE leap. A leap so big it feels like were going over the cliff. But even if we do go over the cliff, I know HE will be there to catch us.
We are in the midst of planning a silent auction and/or garage sale to raise money for our first payment installment for the adoption agency we have chosen. We have to complete an application and the fee for that application is $600. I am hoping to have this done and completed by the end of September. The location and dates are not set in stone, but I am looking for volunteers that can make something, offer services, donate items, and pray for us. Please contact me and let me know if you would like to contribute. You can click the "Contact Me'' button on this blog or contact me on Facebook.
I would also like to do this in our hometown (Donalsonville), so stay tuned for those details if you're not in the Columbus area.
Also, if you're local (Columbus/Phenix City), Bryan goes weekly to donate blood plasma at Talecris Blood Resources. He gets paid everytime he donates. They have a referral program, so if you have time to donate, mention his name and he gets $50 and you get $50! This is an alternative way we are saving money to pay for the adoption fees. Please visit their website for more details.
Please Like and Share my blog so we can spread the word and get our baby home!
-Whitney