Adopted…Fully chosen…

Just five weeks after Laney was born, her best friend and cousin, Karlee, came into the world. My baby cousin, Jennifer and her husband Josh, chose the path of adoption. This path happily led us to having two girl babies in our family in just a little over a month! Making us all so happy!

When Alexis got pregnant with Laney, I told her I would help keep her baby. I told her I would keep Laney a couple days a week, so she wouldn’t have to put her in daycare, when she was a young infant. I told my baby cousin, Jennifer, the same thing as soon as we found out she and her husband, Josh, were on the waiting list to adopt a new born. Little did we all know how quickly all of our lives would change! Alexis and Nolan had sweet, little Laney and not more than a week or so had gone by when Jennifer got the call her and Josh would meet the biological Mom who had chosen them to adopt her child.

Well they met the biological Mom and it wasn’t long before she delivered our sweet Karlee Anne! So, we now have two babies who are only five weeks apart and do everything at about the same time. When I say everything, I mean crawl, and yell loudly, especially when someone takes the other ones toy, or book! And a lot of yelling goes on if Laney thinks someone is gonna get her “puffs”! She goes wild!

These two have stolen all of our hearts! They have made my days happy when I was feeling down or sad. One of my friends, Cathy, when I told her how much they have helped me through losing Nolan, said, “you know the Lord knows what we need even before we need it”! There is so much truth in that statement she made! Yes, God does know. He knew we needed Laney and Karlee so desperately, He gave them both to us. In just a little over a month, we suddenly had two of the sweetest, little people I have ever known.

It doesn’t matter whether we live with the person who gave birth to us or the parents God hand picked for us, we are loved by a Heavenly Father. Loved more than we could ever comprehend! I can’t imagine loving two little people more than I do Laney and Karlee, even if I gave birth to them myself.

Knowing how I feel about Karlee and what she means to our family, made me look through the Scriptures to see what God says about adoption. We see in Scripture we are adopted into the family of Christ! 2 Corinthians 6:18, says, “And I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says they Lord almighty!” (NIV). The Lord promises to be a Father to the fatherless. Isn’t this so comforting?

Through the love of Jesus and His perfect will for our lives, Karlee has a Heavenly Father and an earthly father, who both love her! Karlee has a Mom, who is one of the best. A Mom handpicked by God Himself.

Just today, I entered a writers challenge to write a devotional on a certain passage of Scripture. The Scripture I was assigned is found in Ephesians 1:3-6. Verses 5 and 6 says, “In love He predestined is for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. (ESV).

Is it a coincidence I was assigned a passage of Scripture on a subject I had already been studying? Is it just a coincidence Karlee was adopted into our family just at the time we needed her? It is a coincidence Karlee and Laney were born so close together at a time we were gonna need them the most? I am sure the answer is no! No, it isn’t coincidence. It is the work of an Almighty, all-knowing, loving and ever- present, God!

Lord, I ask you to help us see your hand in every situation. When we face troubling times, help us to remember you are always working behind the scenes, to provide us with exactly what we will need. I thank you for Karlee, and what she means to my family and especially what she means to me. Thank you for bringing her in our lives to be with us, during the hardest time we could ever imagine we would face. Thank you Laney has a life-long friend and someone she can always lean on. You are surely good to us! In your name, Amen.

During the hardest situations, during the times that mold you into who you are, remember you are adopted by God. You are fully chosen by the One who gave you life.