From an early age, we taught Bailey to pray. We prayed for a son and she prayed for a sister.  One day, God spoke to me and said, “GET READY!”  When God speaks, your heart knows it! 

Months and months went by… actually, it was over a year, and our baby room sat ever so empty collecting nothing but dust and a crowd of witnesses to my humiliation.  They'd ask “So, are you on  an adoption list?”  I’d hang my head in shame. “No.” 
“Have you heard of a birth mother or situation?”  Still looking to the floor, I’d reply…"No.”  I would stand over my empty crib and cry as I wiped the dust from its rails.  “God, I know I heard You.”  Then, the Lord spoke to my heart.  He said, “I told Noah to build the ark. It took him a hundred years to build it and he was mocked because it had never rained.  But, when the rain came, he was ready… All I ever told you to do was to be ready.”  This comforted me and I continued my waiting. 

Then, one night… pretty late in the evening, I got a knock on the door.  I opened it to find my friend, Julie, visibly shaken and asking to talk with me.   I took her to my bedroom and we sat on the floor and talked.  She then said that they were considering adoption for this baby because her husband and her had a son and daughter; the family they'd always dreamed of.  She became even more upset trying to explain why, so I dropped it and went with whatever she wanted.  I asked her if I could pray with her before she left and we did.  As soon as she walked out the door, I called my prayer warrior…my mother.  My mother said…”Aren’t you waiting for a baby?...What’s wrong with you?”   That was the first time that I’d even considered that this might be the baby we'd waited for.   

So after praying and talking with my husband, I called Julie.  After much stumbling over my words… I was terrified to even ask, she said, “Tracy, just spit it out!”  I asked her if she’d considered us as adoptive parents.  She burst into tears and said “Don’t you know that’s why I was there?”  I matched her tears and we cried together. 

 

So, Addison was born and God fulfilled His promise to us.  Now the great lesson is… Julie later told me that had it not been for the empty baby room, they would never have considered adoption as an option.

 

 

 

 

Julie and her husband, Travis, have two children. The friendship we had before Addison was born was close, but now the love between our families is deeper than we could have ever imagined.

Our children and their birth stories testify to the beauty of open adoption and the faithfulness of the Lord. His working in our life is undeniable.

Living Stones, Inc.
P.O. Box 4194
Lawrence, KS 66046
adoptlivingstone@aol.com