We did a thing.
We bought a car seat.
You know . . . the kind you put a baby in.
Except, we don’t have a baby.
Yet.
Did you know that November is National Adoption Awareness Month?
My husband and I have been on an adoption journey for the past several years. Our home study was completed earlier this year, so we’ve technically been ready to move forward and bring home a baby since then. We’ve been open, watching, reading through potential adoption opportunities, but we’ve also just been going about our lives.
We still have work, ministry, music, a home . . . all the things that require our time and attention every day.
We’ve also been saving and fundraising for our adoption, one of the main reasons we haven’t moved forward as of yet. We’re doing a domestic infant adoption, which costs $30K+, depending on each individual situation.
That’s a lot of money.
And we still don’t have it all.
But that feeling of readiness has really settled in over the past few months.
We’re ready and we’re confident that we’re doing exactly what God has called us to do.
Even though we don’t have all the funds in place, we decided to do something by faith. We believe that as we continue to do our part, He will provide a miracle, and our baby will soon be in our arms.
We already had the nursery set up for our home study visits, so we thought a great way to exercise our faith would be to buy a car seat (a necessity for when baby arrives).
It’s on its way.
Our reminder that God is working, that His promises are true, that He is faithful. A reminder to pray for our baby and his or her birth family. A reminder to be thankful for God’s provision. A reminder that a miracle is on the way.
I was sharing our plan to buy a car seat with a friend who shared her own story of exercising faith.
As a new convert and single mom, she knew God had a family in her future. She wasn’t desperate to get married, she just knew she wanted to, and she trusted God would bring her the perfect husband.
When she and her son would sit down for dinner, she started setting an extra place at the table for her future husband. It was a small way to exercise her faith and remind her to pray for the man God had for her.
Not long after, she met her husband. And, they have been happily married and involved in ministry together for 19 years!
Her story was confirmation for me.
And it reminded me of several other stories of people exercising their faith.
Not just stories in the Bible, like the woman in 2 Kings 4, who had debtors ready to take her sons. She made her need known to the prophet Elisha, and he told her that God would multiply the little bit of oil she had left in her house. But first, she had to go borrow as many vessels as she could before the miraculous provision.
She had to exercise her faith and gather the vessels for the oil she believed was coming.
But I remembered stories from people I know, too. Like my great-aunt who found a home she wanted in the city where they pastored.
She just knew it was the one, even though they couldn’t afford the asking price. One of the great features (that I enjoyed quite a bit in the summer) was the in-ground pool in the backyard.
While she couldn’t afford the house, she could afford to buy some things for the pool that she knew would be hers. So, that’s what she did.
And, eventually, God gave them that house for a beautiful home.
Buy the car seat!
While it’s typically meant to hold and transport a baby, right now it’s a symbol of trust and expectation. It’s us being intentional with our faith.
What are the promises of God you’re still waiting on?
How are you reminding yourself that your promise is coming?
Do you have any visible reminders to pray and thank God for all the ways He’s working things out for you?
I challenge you to exercise your faith this week!
Maybe it’s setting an extra place at the table.
Maybe it’s buying a car seat.
And, maybe it’s something completely different!
I can’t say we have a baby yet, or that a birth family has chosen us. I can’t even say we have the funds in the bank.
But, that’s okay!
I have a physical, visible reminder that our miracle is on its way.
In what ways have you exercised your faith? We would love to be encouraged by your stories, so share them in the comments!