As I mentioned in the last post, we weren't sure we even wanted to be considered for the new situation, because Misty didn't fit our vision of the "perfect" birthmother. In our minds we would swoop in to "rescue" a Christian teenager who had "slipped up" with one of the boys in her youth group. Pretty naive, huh?
Misty was about as far from our original vision as she could get.....she was a drug addict/alcoholic who worked as a "lady of the evening", she didn't know the identity of the baby's father, and she was currently serving time in a county jail. With all of those red flags, we were very reluctant to "go there".
But as we sought the Lord and prayed for His guidance, a wise friend challenged us to rethink our definition of the perfect birthmother. Who was more in need of rescuing? A Christian teenager who most likely would have the support of a loving family? Or a lost soul who had no options, no support, no family, nothing. If no one came forward to adopt her baby, would Misty decide she had no other options except to abort?
Our friend also shared a passage of scripture that finally helped us understand the Lord's heart for Misty and her baby, and how He was leading us to respond to their need.....
Misty was about as far from our original vision as she could get.....she was a drug addict/alcoholic who worked as a "lady of the evening", she didn't know the identity of the baby's father, and she was currently serving time in a county jail. With all of those red flags, we were very reluctant to "go there".
But as we sought the Lord and prayed for His guidance, a wise friend challenged us to rethink our definition of the perfect birthmother. Who was more in need of rescuing? A Christian teenager who most likely would have the support of a loving family? Or a lost soul who had no options, no support, no family, nothing. If no one came forward to adopt her baby, would Misty decide she had no other options except to abort?
Our friend also shared a passage of scripture that finally helped us understand the Lord's heart for Misty and her baby, and how He was leading us to respond to their need.....
"If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?" Prov. 24:10-12
Ultimately, it all came down to one question.....Were we strong enough to follow the Lord into frightening and uncharted territory to rescue this precious baby from a very uncertain future, or possibly even death? Or would we turn tail and run at the first hint of trouble? As we prayed and struggled to answer that question, the path the Lord was laying out before us became very clear, and we gave our permission to be considered for Misty's baby. Three weeks later when we got word that she had chosen our family to adopt her baby, we had no way of knowing we would have to ask ourselves that same question many, many times over the next four months while we awaited the baby's birth.
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