Meet Maggie!

Becoming a mother has always been a terrifying thing to me. Being responsible for the health and well-being of my own self was scary enough, let alone doing that for another human being. I was constantly questioning whether or not I had what it took to raise a child. I was afraid of not being nice enough, not being patient enough, not being kind enough, and, to be honest, I just really love to sleep in and take long showers. I’ve seen enough mommy blogs to know those would both be out the window come parenthood. Last year, I even made a list of 30 things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. Number 7 said this: “Start to think about maybe possibly becoming a mom. Someday. In the future.” To say that having the title “mother” freaked me out was an understatement.

Last Spring, God began to change my heart. I started seeing motherhood in a new light. It suddenly became less about what I would have to give up and more about what I would gain. The thought of raising a child seemed less like a burden and more like a privilege. I can’t put my finger on what caused these thoughts, but I’m confident that God was preparing my heart for a journey that I never expected.

Isaac and I began talking about starting a family. We talked about timeframe, finances, and every possible logistic that a child would affect. What can I say? I’m a planner. As we began talking about having a biological baby, there was a disconnect. We felt God saying, “It’s time to become parents, but it’s not time to have a baby.” Awesome. Thanks for the extremely clear and easy to understand answer, God. Much appreciated.

In April, we traveled to Haiti to check out a potential missions partner and everything began to make sense. The parent-like hearts God was beginning to form inside of us went into overdrive and we couldn’t imagine not making adoption the basis of our family. We knew God was leading us to adopt from the Caribbean so we began the process.

We’ve experienced incredibly joyous highs and gut-wrenching lows, but God remains faithful in his promise to complete what he begins. We’ve had the door shut in our faces with no idea of what to do next, and we’ve had doors we didn’t even know existed flung wide open for us. We’ve stressed and doubted we would ever come up with enough money to make this thing happen, and we’ve had anonymous checks handed to us for the perfect amount needed. God does not call us to missions that he has not already fulfilled, and for this truth I could not be more grateful.

  

Maggie is on staff as the Community Impact Minister at Christ’s Church of Oronogo. She and her husband, Isaac, are in the process of adopting their first child from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  At the Joy in the Journey Retreat, she will be leading the breakout session entitled, “Orphan Care Ministries.”