Adoption Story: Hello, Nathan!

Kent and Theresa came to me a bit defeated, but hopeful. I had SO much hope for them and in so much faith IN them. I was so sure that even though they had been through so much that God would show up Big for them, and He did.

Theresa shares their beautiful journey:

When Kent and I started looking into adoption, we knew it would be a difficult but exciting journey. And we also knew that the work God had begun in our hearts for adoption would lead to something amazing. Looking back, I can now say the journey was much more difficult and much more amazing than I had ever imagined.

We started the adoption process through a local agency in the spring of 2015. But when months and months went by with little activity and then a failed match, I started to become desperate. I’m not usually a desperate person, but I just knew something had to change. We were SO ready to be parents, so ready to do whatever it took to find the child God had for us. If there was not a pressing need for adoptive parents locally, I wanted to be where the need was. Feeling hopeless and unsure and desperate for support, I literally searched the hashtag #adoptionrocks on Instagram and found Casey’s page. I followed along for a while before I began wondering, Okay, so what’s an adoption consultant???

I wrote to Casey with a couple questions, and she got back to me right away. I’m pretty sure I wrote to her, arranged a phone call, and we joined Christian Adoption Consultants all in one week. I remember getting off the phone with Casey and telling Kent,She answered every one of my questions SO patiently! CAC was a perfect fit for us we were so excited that through them, we could be connected with multiple agencies, opening up our availability to be where the need was. We had hope again!

Over the next 7 months, we considered, agonized, and prayed over situation after situation. We saidyes? over and over and heardshe chose another family? over and over. This was tough. I struggled with believing that there really was a happy ending in store for us. Casey was there for us every step of the way. She wrote I’m here if you need me,? and she truly was. I wrote to her so many times checking for updates, asking for advice, or just pouring out my heart, and she always knew just what to say to help me get up and keep going. Her experience as an adoptive mom made her support and understanding so genuine. She knew when to mourn with us over anotherno,? and when to send encouragement that God had something amazing in store for us. One time she just wrote, I would do anything to just come hug you,??and that was all I needed to hear.

I so clearly remember the evening my phone rang, and it was Casey, and when I answered, my voice was probably just a squeak. And how over the next couple months, the story of OUR baby would unfold in the absolutely perfect way. The happy ending God had been preparing for us the whole time.

We were matched on?May 1, after 19 months of waiting (7 with CAC) and hearingno? 24 times. The expectant mother we were matched was due with a baby boy on August 3^rd, but a month and a half later, 7 weeks before his due date, we got a phone call that WE WERE PARENTS!

Nathan John was born on June 16^th?at 4 lbs 5 oz. He was so tiny, but doing incredibly well, and? he was OURS. The answer to our prayers? a gift from God? a miracle.

I had told myself over and over during the waiting that looking back, all the heartache and theno’s? would make sense, but I had no idea how true that would be. Every day that I stared at my phone willing it to ring, everyno? we heard, even the desperation that led me to search for support on Instagram? all of it was God guiding us to June 16^th, 2017, the day OUR BABY, our precious gift from God, was born.