A friend gave me this comic strip the other day, and I love it! (In case the print is too small to read, the father is saying, "Do you realize how rich we'd be if we didn't have four children and three pets?" The mom replies, "No, I realize how POOR we'd be." I have many people tell me that they would love to adopt, but they can't afford it. I know it is so scary to look into adopting and see a cost--from $15,000-30,000. However, I want to tell you what God has done for us and maybe it will encourage you to take a leap of faith!
We have never had the money to do any of our adoptions. Most of the time we started out with nothing, or maybe with just enough to get started. God has provided for us in many different ways. With Jacob's adoption, we were already in the hole for the entire amount of Jordan's adoption. And yet, despite having to borrow money sometimes, God has always given us a level of income to be able to make the payments--or put it on people's heart to help out. There have been times that Jeff got an unexpected bonus at work. There have been times when we received more back from our income taxes than we were expecting. None of our 'windfalls' have been enough to cover an entire adoption, but they have been enough to get us to the next step. Yes, we have made some sacrifices--like no vacations--but we are very much aware that we live better than most people in the world, so how could we complain?
This is my favorite story of God's provision. We had completed the paperwork for one of our adoptions but we didn't have the money for the next step. We needed $3,200 to pay the adoption agency fee. I put all the completed paperwork into a drawer and thought, "Well...I have no idea how THAT is going to get paid for." A few days later, Jeff called and said that his former company car was going to be removed from service. It had a problem and the company decided it wasn't worth fixing. Jeff asked if he could buy it (against company policy) and miraculously, they said yes. He bought it for $600! It was only a few years old and it was a very nice car. Jeff fixed the problem for very little money and put an ad in the paper to try to sell it. We got no response. Jeff wanted to use the money to fix up the basement but after the car didn't sell, he began to ask God what GOD wanted us to use the money for. We decided that it should go for the adoption. The very same day that Jeff gave up 'his right' to use the money the way he wanted to, God sold our car! When Jeff tallied up the costs of buying it and fixing it and deducted it from the sale price, the amount was..... $3,200!!!
When we began adopting, our income was much lower than it is now. We scrimped and saved to get Jillian home and as soon as she was home, God led us to start Molly's adoption. I was fearful of many things--not just money--but wondered how we could possibly parent four children?! I want you to know that God has increased our strength, our income, and everything we need. There is never more than we need--but there is enough. Over the years as we have adopted, God has raised our income as needed. I truly believe that we would not have these income blessings if we were not adopting. Even if we were, it would not compare to the blessings that the kids bring to us each day.
So if you are contemplating adopting, do not let the fear of lack of money or lack of energy (or any other 'LACK') hold you back. Take the leap of faith and trust God to supply all that you need. You'll be glad you did!
