God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called...

It's an amazing thing when you can recognize God working in your life. It's the the plans and goals that you know are too great for you to have come up with yourself. That's exactly what adoption is for us.
If you'd have asked us 5 years ago if we would adopt, we would have probably said, "Ummm, no". Not because we were ever against adoption. But because we were newlyweds, and babies weren't even on our minds.
If you'd have asked us 3 years ago, we would have said, "Why adopt?" I was pregnant with Matthew at that time. After all, who needs to adopt when you can conceive and carry on your own?? Right??
While pregnant with Matthew, I struggled with sudden rapid swelling, weight gain and high blood pressure. This was soon diagnosed as Preeclampsia. On July 4, 2009, at just 27 weeks, I went into labor with Matthew. Upon arrival at Southeast AL Medical Center (Dothan, AL), I was examined and found to be 1cm dilated and progressing. The decision was made to transfer me to UAB, as the chances were good that I would have a baby that night. Before transferring I was checked once more and was at 2cm. At the rate I was going, I should have been around 4cm by the time we got to UAB. We prayed all the way there for our baby. That if it was God's will that he be born that day, that he would be healthy and strong. I remember feeling such a peace come over me. When the doctor at UAB examined me, he looked puzzled. He stepped out of the room without saying a word, and another doctor came in and examined me. After looking through my chart a minute, he looked at me and asked, "Why are you here?" Turns out, I was not dilated at all. I was back to a completely closed cervix, no contractions, no pain, nothing. I stayed the night and went home the next morning. I continued to have extremely high blood pressure. It stayed in the 200s for the rest of the pregnancy. On September 7, 2009, Matthew made his debut weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches long. At 35 weeks gestation, he needed no extra care. He was perfectly healthy... a blessing from God.
We had planned to space our babies two years apart, but God had other plans. We started trying in January 2011. Month after month went by and no positive pregnancy tests. After 5 months, we began talking about the possibility of fertility treatments and wondering if Matthew would be our only child. One day at church, our preacher shared a message about asking God to show us our purpose in life. He stated that each person was created with a purpose, and we should pray and ask God to reveal our purpose to us. I prayed and prayed that God would show me my purpose. One day he answered,"the children". I had no idea what this meant. Should I go back to school to be a teacher? Should I open a daycare? Should I teach a Sunday School class? So a prayed for clarity... Then one day He answered again, "adopt". I started really thinking I must be absolutely nuts, or just desperate for another baby. I knew adoption was a long process, and I had heard it was very expensive. I just didn't know if I was that kind of person, if we would qualify, or if we would be able to afford the process. There were just so many more capable families out there. To me, adopting was something that only wealthy people with big houses could do. Neither of which described us. Then I remembered "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called." I talked to Mike about it, and we prayed on it together. We knew it was God's will. The only question left was "When?"
On Father's Day 2011, after 6 months of trying, we got a positive pregnancy test. We never forgot about adoption, we talked about it often. We loved the idea, but we just couldn't figure out how we could even afford it with one son and another on the way. I did a great deal of reading up on adoption.. the process, the cost. I found out that it was in fact a long process, but that it wasn't as expensive as I had always heard. There are grants available to help cover a majority of the expenses. This helped ease most of my financial concerns.
Toward the end of my pregnancy with Gabe, I started having those old familiar blood pressure issues, but this time I was diagnosed with Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. On January 27, 2012, Gabe arrived weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. Gabe, like Matthew, was also born at 35 weeks gestation.
While Gabe was also born quite healthy, my doctor advised against my getting pregnant again. The fact that my blood pressure has sky rocketed into the 200s during both pregnancies was a huge risk to take again. We had been truly blessed to have completely healthy little boys both times and didn't feel the need to "press our luck".
When Gabe was just a few weeks old, the call came again... adoption. It felt like a crazy time to even consider adoption with just having brought home our newborn. But then we remembered that the process is a long one (1 to 3 years in most cases). If we were to start now, Gabe would be at least a year old before a new baby would join our family. Mike and I talked about it and prayed on it. We knew it was time to start. I started really digging in.. looking up the specifics and searching different agencies. Every question we had, God placed the answer right in front of us. Almost instantly in many cases. When that happens, you can be assured it is nothing short of God's guidance on the situation. We have felt him with us throughout the process. We have chosen an agency. We are working with Agape of Central Alabama. We are very pleased with our experience so far. We are about to start a series of classes that we must take as part of the process. As I said before, it's a long process. But we have a loving family and friends that we know we can count on, and a mighty God that has been and will be with us every step of the way. It is a path that I can explain in no other way than "God's will". Only He could have planned out such a wonderful journey. I feel blessed that He has called us not only to be the parents of two wonderful, beautiful sons, but that he has now blessed us with the opportunity to be the family of a child in need! Thank you Lord for all of your many blessings.