We are so great!!

Not really. I understand why people say "You are so great for adopting Ruslana". I understand it's because they could never imagine themselves doing such a thing, but I want to set the record straight. This is NOT about us!! This is NOT something we EVER imagined for our lives. This is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, GOD!

We have chosen to answer HIS call. Please, know that I do not say those words lightly. He has specifically called us to adopt this angel. Countless things have happened in our lives over the past couple of years that have lead us to this point. Some of you may not think that this example has anything to do with our journey, but I can't help but think that it does. Several months ago I subscribed to a popular homeschooling magazine. At the time, I didn't realize it's only published a handful of times a year. Just last week I wondered what happened to my subscription. The next day I received it in the mail. Do you know what 2 of the "featured" articles were on the cover? One was "Homeschooling the Special Needs Child" and the other was "Adopting Homeschoolers". Coincidence? I don't think so.

You may be thinking "man, she reads WAY too much into everything". But I tell you, God sitting down by my hubby in Waffle House was no coincidence! Me running into Cathy at our local Publix the day I prayed and prayed and prayed about clear direction was no coincidence (Cathy has Downs). As sad as I was for Ruslana to lose 2 other families before us, I can't help but think that God planned her for our family all along (I've been praying for her for 2 years). Another adoptive family telling me about Ruslana and handing me a photo and brief description of her while having NO idea of my connection to her was no coincidence.

In the beginning we were scared. Did I hand it ALL over to Him? I'd love to tell you I did, but that would be a lie. I am human and have a very hard time handing it all over. I partially hand it over, though.:) I prayed for centuries (well, maybe a couple of years) about adoption. "No" was the answer I got from hubby. Then came Reece's Rainbow. "NO WAY" was the answer. So, I prayed. And prayed. And....you get the idea.

At this point I truly had total peace that we would be adopting through RR some day. Hubby began to ask questions (well, actually list the items I needed to find the answers to). Some of them were-

1. Health insurance- he is self-employed and add to that a special needs child!

2. Cost of adoption- oh, the show stopper for so many!! I'll write a separate post about that later.

3. How will our kids handle it?

4. What will happen to her if we can't take care of her at some point?

5. What about homeschooling?

6. What about the long travel?

Guess what? I found the answers!! Do you know what his response was? NO! What?!! So, I was back on my knees. After hubby was struck in the head with a lightning bolt (just kidding), he wanted to commit to Ruslana. Our story is woven through the pages of this blog and I won't repeat it all now.

Back to my original reason for writing tonight. We are NOT great! We are NOT special! We are simply answering God's call for our lives. Down Syndrome orphan ministry is something we feel called to be active in. And I want to tell each of you- we have NO experience with Down Syndrome. We truly believe that each of us is called to something. I know we aren't all called to adopt, but we are all called.

One of my favorite sayings is- "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called." And we are living proof of that.

Will you answer the call?

In Him,

E