Nearly 20 years ago, the Lord nudged us to adopt. I cannot say that I was shocked because I know, when He created me, God placed a longing in my heart to tend to the suffering and needy. Back in the 80s, when I was very young, I remember watching commercials that pleaded for funds for orphans in foreign lands and consequently running to my mother begging her to send them aid. Little did I know that I would be caring for them myself one day.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, when the Lord asked us to begin our adoption journey, I resoundingly responded, “Yes, Lord! Here, I am Lord!” No hesitation involved, simply a petition that He would show me the way. And He has. Since that initial request from God, we have received countless others, including two more calls to adopt. Each time we have given Him our fiat, “let it be done”, no holding back. Three times, this yes has been an embracing of a call to mother a child that I did not give birth to and trusting that the Lord would give me all I needed to love each as my own. And He has.
“So I said, “Here I am, your commands for me are written in the scroll. To do your will is my delight; my God, your law is in my heart!”” Psalm 40:8-9
Adoption is truly a gift of self. It is a release of your plans for your life and an acceptance that the Lord’s plan is greater. It is seeing motherhood in a new light, realizing that when the Lord created the child that He is asking you to adopt, He already knew that he or she was yours. I imagine the Lord creating each of my beautiful children in His hand, breathing life into them, and then gently placing them in their birthmother’s wombs to grow and enter the world. Even before they each breathed their first gasp of air, the Lord began to nudge them toward our family. This was His plan all along. He knew they would safely reach our home; He was with them as they journeyed to us.
God instilled in me a longing to hold and tenderly meet the needs of the motherless. He asked me to deliberately enlist in the moment, though, at that time, I did not fully grasp what my yes would insist of me. Had I known the ups and downs that agreeing to His plan would entail, I would have squirmed and wiggled a little, but still pronounced my heartfelt “Yes, Lord! Here, I am!” With each fiat is a willing sacrifice, my gift of self for the lifetime of my child.
In this current season, God is asking me to quietly walk the journey with each of my children. He seeks my “yes” again and again and I renew my promise to care for my daughters daily as new situations arise. He asks me to guard, protect, and guide His beloved children, but mostly Our Lord desires that entrust my girls to Him. I then ask the Father to hold them as tenderly as a mother caresses a newborn, sustaining and renewing them with His love.
“You whom I have called my servant, whom I have chosen and will not cast off- Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice.” Isaiah 41: 9-10
Clearly, one of the things I was made for is to nurture and to love those who mothers could not care for them. Relinquishing my heart and will to His way, my life is directed toward this purpose. My gift is a giving of self that is pleasing to the Lord and has its origins in God. I will not take it back. My yes is a yes forever.
Call to Act: Is there a yes, the Lord is asking you to renew? Is there a place He is asking you to grow and inviting you to relinquish your control, turning it over to Him? Are you taking action to give it to Him daily? Take some time to ponder what He created you to do. How are you living out this call? Each one of a kind, our callings reflect this uniqueness. My prayers are with you, sister, as you set these questions before the Lord, asking Him to reveal His Divine plan in your life.
“May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the Lord of our hands!” Psalm 90:17
St. Teresa of Calcutta and Mother Angelica, pray for us as we renew our yeses to Christ. Ask the Lord to reveal areas that He is seeking our relinquishment and a renewal of our fiat. Beseech Him to unveil work He is calling us to do today. Beg the Lord to fill our hearts with His graces and love so we can continue to carry out His work in the world. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
My girls…beautiful and unique gifts from God.