“Adoption is God’s loving option.”
When we married 29 years ago Lyndy and I placed a priority on caring for kids and their families. In the early years we dreamed about the possibilities of adoption. When I was the pastor of a church in Kansas we brought two foster sisters into our home. Like so many in Corsicana, we wanted to help hurting kids, and we asked if we could adopt them. When the courts returned the children to their unstable home, we were heart broken. But our mission was not over. We moved to Ft. Worth and God blessed us with two daughters who share our love for children.
After graduation from seminary, we began working with the Gladney Center for Adoption. We took newborns into our home and cared for each one until adoption. During this time God gave us a greater desire to take that step of faith and join the adoption family! But in the following years with the birth of our son Evan, raising a family, and leading a church, those desires were put on hold. Until now.
One year ago we again talked about the possibility of adoption. We heard about the tragedy of Maria Sue Chapman, daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman. Her death and the Chapman’s appeal spoke to us. No longer was our question “could we” but “why shouldn’t we?” We prayed and began taking steps towards adoption.
Because First Baptist Church was working with Buckner Family services to build a school in Ethiopia, we went there for our training and home study. Then Buckner connected us once again with Gladney.
We were thinking about adopting a little girl from China. Because I am older than 50, we qualified to adopt only a “waiting child.” These children are waiting because no one has yet adopted them due to some special need. But a choir trip to New York City with Corsicana High School changed everything. We had a brief walk from our hotel to the Gladney Asia office on the other side of Time Square. There we heard about their Taiwan program. They told us to anticipate two years before we could adopt. We told them we did not want to wait that long. “What’s your hurry?” they asked.
We were told that after age 55 the doors to international adoption close. We were also informed that we could only adopt one child at a time. If we wanted our adopted daughter to grow up with a sibling, we had to move quickly.
“You want two children?” they asked.
We were not trying to adopt two, but we told them we were open to anything at this point. People wait for years for adoption. But after six months we wanted the wheels to move as quick as possible. We did not wait long.
In April we received the most joyous news! A little girl and her brother were looking for a forever family. We knew this was a gift from God: a little girl and a bonus boy! Then we discovered that we are Gladney’s first family to be able to adopt two from Taiwan!
Molly is the name we will give our 5-year-old daughter. Her new name means “wished for child.” Her Chinese name Zih-Syuan means Jade, so we will give her the middle name after her mother. Lyn means “beautiful Jade.” We see God’s hand in bringing her to our family. Mason is almost 7. His new name means “overcomer.” He will share his middle name with his new father; David means “beloved one,” and he will be loved here like never before. We look back at this past year and see how often God has confirmed the path we have taken.
We are grateful to the Family at First Baptist for their support and encouragement. We are thankful for Shiloh’s help in the benefit concert this Monday. Because we are the first to adopt two, we had to make our decision without financial information. But we believe that where God guides, He always provides.
We have chosen Mason and Molly to be in our forever family. Soon our son Evan will accompany us to Taipei, Taiwan. We will bring our children to Corsicana where they will have a much larger family. We are confident that they will find in our town the same love and affirmation that we have experienced.
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Dr. David Edwards is pastor of First Baptist Church in Corsicana. He may be reached by e-mail at d avid@fbccorsicana.org. Want to “Soundoff” on this column? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
