Adoption Story: Sam + Lori

Everything can change in a moment. This was the case with Sam and Lori after waiting just a few weeks to be matched. A phone call about a mama expecting a boy…due in a few months. But then, a surprise call and just three days later they met their son.

And those weeks waiting weren’t wasted. They had the chance to hear about other expectant and birth moms: learning a bit of their stories. The hard and the broken and the brave. And although they weren’t matched with any of them, they had the amazing privilege and opportunity to pray specifically for each one. A mama. A father. A baby with their whole life ahead of them. Details some closest to them might not know that Sam and Lori could pray over specifically.

Sam and Lori’s story is a beautiful reminder that God never wastes the wait. And that God is always working, even when we can’t see it.

Sam and I met in 2007 and from the very beginning, we knew adoption or fostering would be a part of our story. We also knew we wanted a large family with a house full of kids. Fast forward to 10 years of marriage, two kids, and we were struggling to have a third. After some prayer and many heartfelt conversations, we felt called to pursue adoption. God’s presence was felt from the very early stages as we went to church the morning after looking through the list of items we’d need to compile for the home study and reviewing budgets and costs. Feeling overwhelmed at the mountain of paper work and costs in front of us, our pastor spoke that morning about how we are called by God to father the fatherless. That was it: we were all in with both feet.