Expecting

Tricia and I are expecting. We are expecting a child to be part of our family soon, a little girl who is already born, whom we don’t know yet and is living a world away. We are expecting God to provide us the means to wrap our crazy family life around this little girl and surround her with love. We are expecting God to provide us with the finances necessary to make it all happen. We’re expecting a whole lot.

I don’t think we are presuming, in the pejorative sense of making demands of God, that he would align his will with ours. More on that in a moment.

In the fall of 2009, as I soaked up portions of Isaiah over and over, I came to an overwhelming conviction that I was to become a father to someone fatherless. This built up over months, and I did what any normal guy would do who has four children and a hectic life: I kept my mouth shut and hoped the building pressure of conviction would go away. It didn’t.

It turns out Tricia was experiencing her own version of this same conviction. For her, the sense of calling began building several months before I experienced it, but she too kept quiet, rightfully believing I would think she was crazy if she brought it up with me. A few days after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, as we contemplated the carnage and our family prayed nightly for the Haitians, we finally broke our silence.

It was a bizarre conversation. “I feel like I should tell you something.” “Well, I need to tell you something as well.” “Oh, you go first.” “No, you.” “I have this crazy idea that…” “Wait, for real?!? That’s what I was going to say!” “You’re kidding!” (Long, quiet pause.) “Huh. Does that mean we actually have to do it?”

Jesus commands us to seek first his kingdom and leave the minor stuff like food, clothing, and shelter to him. As we came face to face with a call to adopt, we discovered we don’t have a clue what its like to actually trust Jesus and obey him in this way. There is so much wisdom that says we should count the cost, be a good steward, etc. Yet we realized that in the face of a clear calling, all of that stuff was simply applied to how we obeyed, not if we obeyed.

We wanted to make the cost (financial and emotional) the criteria by which we decided if we would adopt. But how can one claim to seek first the kingdom, if concerns about food, clothing, and shelter (and college, and retirement, and comfort, and vacations, and…) are the reason you don’t obey the call of God? We’ve had offers of advice regarding the pros versus the cons of adoption, but we honestly don’t need help in that regard. We can easily make a spreadsheet that has a far larger “cons” column. But none of the items in that overwhelming list are the kingdom of God. It gets hidden behind the noise of our concerns and comfort.

We have decided to try to obey, plain and simple. It has been a staggering effort, yet we are already seeing the fruit of God blessing us. For myself, I have seen my own heart change from simply desiring to have a heart like God’s that cares for orphans in their distress, to feeling like my family has a hole in it, waiting to be filled by my daughter who is not yet with us. I did not expect this… it has blown me away. I’m the guy who was content with three children, who deals with lots of chronic pain and fatigue, and who wasn’t looking for more complexity in life. Somehow the Lord is taking that weak vessel and filling it with love for a child I don’t even know yet.

Some friends from our church home group moved to Ethiopia last year to manage the in-country side of Gladney adoptions, so we have decided to follow where the Lord has provided. We have initiated the process to adopt through Gladney from Ethiopia. We are in the very early stages, so it could be a year or more before we bring home the newest Horne.

So for the time being, we are expecting.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.”
~~ Isaiah 58:6-12

14 Replies to “Expecting”

  1. …such an echo of the same calling we heard in our lives. We often said that we must have completely gone insane – thank God for heavenly insanity or we might not experience God to the fullest! I am excited for you and praying for your family. I’ve linked our blog that we kept while in China last December adopting Wen Jun. The start of the blog is the start of our journey.

  2. We look forward to seeing what God has prepared, and will be praying as it all unfolds. Also thankful to be along for the ride!

  3. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I have a deeply personal love for adoptive families and my family will keep yours in prayer with hope and anticipation!

  4. Knowing Tricia in Junior High and getting to know her (and the beautiful family) through facebook now, I am not surprised that the Lord would convict you all to adopt. You are clearly equipped with God’s gifting for children. I am ecstatic that a parentless child will eventually be “home.” I can’t wait to follow your journey through fb and your blog.

    Blessings to you all,
    from and old friend,
    Brenda (Poterbin)

  5. WOW, wow wow wow. Goosebumps the whole way through. I’m SO excited for y’all. This is beautiful. How exciting to be willing to let God take you on such an adventure, and how awesome to be part of his plan to make the gospel real in the life of some little girl who otherwise might not ever see God’s love for her tangibly expressed.

    Our Father adopted us . . . what better way to know his heart?

    Congratulations!

  6. This is so beautiful! God is faithful and he will provide everything you need in Christ Jesus. Can’t wait to see how God blesses you all through this. So glad to be your friends. oxox

  7. Thank you, Everyone for your kind comments, and for being excited with us. What a blessing that is to our family!!

    I am learning (not completely surprisingly) that telling someone you are beginning the adoption process produces a different response than if you tell someone you are expecting a baby, even though the end result: another child!! is the same.

    So…those friends and family who have expressed support and encouragement (here and elsewhere)…well, let’s just say it is very meaningful to us. We are so very blessed!

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