Patience. It’s the ability to endure difficult circumstances, the acceptance of a delay. It's a difficult practice to maintain, especially when expectations are only rooted in immeasurable unknowns. Adoption is filled with unknowns. Timing, relationships, expectations, & emotions. Patience is gleaned only in the art of surrender, loosening your grip on all of things you just aren’t able to control, trusting in the sovereignty of a God who knows all, sees all, and is working all things for our good and His glory. Kate shares her and Luke’s story of surrender here. I connected with Kate weekly through their journey to bringing home their son. I remember weeks of the highest hopes and weeks of moments of absolute surrender out of frustration, confusion, and grief. Patience and surrender. I was always so encouraged as they stepped into and said yes to the unknowns with courageous hearts, trusting in the sovereignty that had called them to the space they had so boldly entered. Mother’s Day this year was graced with the greatest gift, meeting sweet Teddy. Our adoption story started years before we actually began the adoption process. Back in 2009, when Luke and I were just dating, we talked about adopting down the line. We talked about how we would love to add to our family by adoption eventually, but really didn’t look into what that would be like. We married in 2014 and were thrilled to welcome Emma to our family after a rough pregnancy and delivery in 2018. We lost a pregnancy in 2019 but then were blessed to add Sammy to our family in 2020 after another difficult pregnancy. After discussions with my doctors, we were told we shouldn’t have another pregnancy for my health. It’s honestly surprising how much I personally felt called by God to adopt. It wasn’t a feeling I had really had before, being called to something this strongly. Both Luke and I are very risk adverse, and honestly adoption is not risk-free at all. But it all felt worth it. So we moved forward. We reached out to Christian Adoption Consultants at the recommendation of a friend in late June 2022 and officially began our adoption journey in July. But after a few months we entered the waiting period. And we waited. And waited. There were a lot of “no’s”. If God decides to teach you patience, putting adoption on your family’s heart is certainly one way to do it. Thank goodness for MacKenzie who checked in with me and kept me sane! Honestly, this was the hardest part for us. I’m not good at waiting and keeping still. Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God” has always been difficult for me. I like plans and movement. But adoption is about patience, waiting, and trusting God. It was a huge learning experience and growth period. On May 10, 2023, we received an adoption situation for a baby boy due June 8th. Something about it just felt so very right. A couple of days later, I got a call from the agency, the birth mom had chosen us! We thought we had a couple weeks to prepare, but we were wrong. We celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday, and decided to do some prep to get ready for the baby. Good thing, because I woke up to a call Monday morning that baby boy came early! So two and a half days after being chosen, we were rushing around and scheduling a plane ride to meet baby boy! Before meeting Teddy, we met his birth mom. She was so sweet. It’s hard to describe what it felt like to meet Teddy’s birth mom. There’s nervousness because you just hope that she’ll like you and feel like she made the best choice. But seeing her smile at Teddy and whisper that he’s with the best possible family and that she couldn’t have made a better choice? That’s an indescribable feeling. I wanted to finish with a quote that has been on our heart much of this adoption journey: “Whether your children are yours through biology or adoption, they are yours through love” (Sadia Rebecca Rodriguez). It couldn’t be more true. There isn’t a strong enough words to describe how much we all love and adore Teddy. Thank you, God, for adding Teddy to our family! -Kate Photos By: Angie Englerth Photography If you have any questions about adoption, I would LOVE to chat with you! Email or Text me. Let's connect!
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AuthorMacKenzie Mygatt Archives
February 2023
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