Why "Eight Is Not Enough"?
When we were younger, there was a television sitcom that was called "Eight is Enough". The television watching world was entertained with the thought of a family with eight children. Most of us were shocked at the prospect of such a large family- myself included! Then ever so slowly, God began to work on our hearts, until we surrendered to Him all of our lives- yes even gave Him sovereign control over the size of our family and He has blessed us immeasurably, with eight biological children. Each of these children have been an amazing gift to us and we cherish each of them. And we praised God for them and felt to ourselves "eight is enough" - at least for a time.
Then God began to stir our hearts. It was as if He spoke to say to us "these 8 precious children I have given to you, but what have you given to my orphans in return?" A burden began to build on our hearts to adopt. We knew that for us God still had other plans for us as parents if we would be faithful to His calling- that eight is not enough. And so, we followed this call to adopted and He has continued to blessed us through adoption. First a sibling group of three from Soacha, Colombia. They joined our family in November, 2008. In May 2010, we adopted twin infants from Texas. In September of 2012 we were privileged to return to Colombia and adopt a sibling group of two from Cali. At this time, we anxiously wait for our travel date to depart for China where a very special girl and boy wait for their forever family. By the time they all reach adulthood, we will have had the amazing privilege to be parents of children in our home for a half century. Our life is full beyond measure, beyond our wildest expectations, yes even beyond anything we could have ever hoped. Truly, eight is not enough. As of late we have wondered if God's plan for us as parents all along was not for eight children, but rather eight plus eight. Our heavenly Father knows and His word assures us "I know the plans I have made for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you." We trust He knows the number of His children He wants us to love and to nurture on His behalf, and whether that is eight or eighty times eight we stand ready and say speak Lord, your servants are listening and are prepared to be father and mother to your fatherless on earth.
Three Things in Texas We Decided not to Adopt
I know many of you thought we were here to adopt a set of twins, but while were are waiting on the legal system to approve us to leave the state we thought we would, in true Texas pioneer spirit, scout around to see if there were any other adoption opportunities for us in the Lone Star State. Our roaming around led us to some truly unique spots in the old west where we firmed up in our mind that we found the perfect fit for our family in Isaiah and Makenzie. So they are the only ones (or things) we plan to bring home. The pictures above represent the the things we have unquestionably rule out for adoption now or in the future. They are from top to bottom; an Emu, an Ostrich, and a Zebra. Once we told the Zebra, he took it so hard he tried to take a bite out of our dash board. None the less, we stood out ground and left him in our dust as we drove off into the sunset. Happy trails to you......
On a more serious note, we had a great day. Betty and I spent a couple of hours in the morning with Isaiah. We got to feed him for the first time. What a great eater- not finicky like his sister. While we we visiting we got to spend an hour just visiting on a personal level with the twins pediatrician from their time in the hospital. What an amazing man. He told us both kids are doing great and they do expect Isaiah to be released tomorrow. Mostly though we just swapped stories about our adoption experiences. He has adopted 11 of his 13 children. I have never met a man with a bigger heart for orphans. We were so blessed to have shared a brief time of fellowship. We were most encouraged to spend time with someone God has similarly called. We pray God's blessings on him and his family.
In the afternoon, as you can guess from the photos, we went to drive through wildlife ranch- it was a great time. God bless each of you.
Jim and Betty
1 comment:
I kept waiting for you to post something new on your blog and then figured out that opening it thru my favorites meant that it was always the same! Now that I've openened it thru the search I found all sorts of new and exciting news! Congratulations. They're beautiful.
We've been praying.
Oreo is doing great. We'll keep her as long as you need us to. We might even get her trained!
Libby
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