This week’s blog is actually the continuation of a story I posted two weeks ago. It can be read alone, but if you want the full story and you missed that post, here’s the link: http://blog.lauriepolich.com/when-god-widens-your-gaze/
With this story, I invite you to consider how things that happen to you are meant to move through you. Others need what your story has to offer them.
Here you will see how one story ultimately changed two families’ lives.
As new parents, Shannon and Dave had settled into a new chapter of life, and they couldn’t help talking about how God had worked in their suffering and loss. One night at a dinner party, they were introduced to Jen and Adam, who were in the throes of trying to start a family. As Shannon and Dave exuberantly recounted their story, Jen felt a knot in her stomach grow.
Once alone, Jen turned to Adam and said, “I can’t believe how happy they seemed about adopting.” Adam sat in silence, stifling the fact that he had already contemplated that course. This would not be their route, Jen thought to herself. They were going to have their babies. It hadn’t happened yet, but it was only a matter of time.
As days and weeks turned to months and a year, Jen and Adam began to accept the fact that their “route” might not be what they planned. Jen met with a social worker named Stacy (who you might recognize from “The Measure of a three day life”) to find out more about Angels Foster Care, and she felt a tug on her heart when she heard of the desperate need for more families. Halfway hoping they would not be selected, Jen and Adam signed up. At the very least, foster care would be “good practice” for the baby they still hoped they’d have.
It was just before Summer, and Jen and Adam had planned a long trip away, renting out their home to cover their cost. Two weeks later, Jen got a phone call from Stacy—a baby they hadn’t expected to survive had grown to three pounds and appeared to be getting stronger each day. Would they be interested in caring for her?
Immediately, Jen thought no—but her heart told her the answer was yes. The irony of waiting so long to have a baby and getting one so quickly struck her that this might be part of a bigger plan. Their home was rented, their trip was planned, and their life was interrupted.
However, Jen and Adam were surprised by the joy they both secretly felt.
Baby Caylee was put in their care, and the minute they saw her, she became lodged in their hearts.
A year and a half later, she was adopted as their own.
As this baby grew and eventually became the pride and joy of their lives, Jen often thought back to the dinner they’d had with Shannon and Dave. The sadness and pain of her struggle had thawed into joy and wonder. They felt chosen, and she and Adam would point to that night as the first step God used to lead them on this journey.
God not only shouts to us in our pain; he often shouts to others through it. In some mysterious way, God is able to move through our pain to touch others.
When we are in a dark season, we often feel distance from God, which is why we need to widen our gaze to see him. We get so focused on where we want Him to be that we sometimes miss where he actually is. Stories help us find him, and sometimes, as Jen and Adam learned, they can even help us find ourselves.
This may be the best way for us to catch a glimpse of God.
To meet Jen and Adam and baby Caylee and hear their story, take two minutes and follow this link: (you will be glad you did!)
http://www.oceanhills.org/#/watch-listen-stories/part-of-a-bigger-story
Postscript: Since this story, Jen and Adam and Shannon and Dave have brought two more children into their homes. Because of open hearts, two new families of four have been started by God.