“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it – because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 MSG
When God creates a family, He is much like a talented chef cooking up a new dish in the kitchen – mixing in an odd collection of ingredients from around the globe, knowing how the exotic flavors will complement each other, and lovingly testing and perfecting until the final result is just as He planned. For our family, God’s ingredients included two charming special needs children from China, a pediatric nurse, a single father raising three sons and a can of Spam!
OUR BEGINNING
Our adoption story began even before my husband and I met. I was working as a registered nurse on the labor/delivery/nursery floor and taking care of many newborns, some of whom were being given the wonderful gift of adoption. I knew deep in my heart that God wanted me to adopt children. I even began looking into the process of adopting as a single parent.
Little did I know that 35 miles north was a single father raising three teenage sons. God miraculously brought the two of us together on New Year’s Eve 2003. We eventually married, and knew from the beginning that we would add to our family through adoption, we just didn’t know when.
SPECIAL NEEDS, SPECIAL JOY
One snowy Sunday afternoon we were searching the Internet for adoption agencies. As we viewed the waiting children on All God’s Children’s site, we saw a picture of a little 14-month-old girl from China. You could tell she was screaming from her facial expressions. Immediately, we knew she was our daughter. Her biography stated that she was ‘special needs,’ as she was missing her lower right arm. The radial and ulnar bones of the lower arm did not develop.
We flew to China on New Year’s Eve 2006 (the 3rd anniversary of our meeting) to become a forever family.
Many people asked us why we wanted a child with a special need. We simply answered, “Why not!” When you meet Emilie, you wonder why she was labeled as a special needs child in the first place. This is a child who was tying her shoe with one hand before others her age could do it with two! She takes dance and gymnastics classes, performing one-handed cartwheels when others are just learning two-handed.
A Shriners hospital fit Emilie for a prosthetic arm/hand. We call it “Mr. Handy’ and she wears it occasionally. She mostly wears the attachment that mimics the palm of a hand when she wants to do handstands or other tumbling maneuvers. Emilie actually prefers to do all her daily tasks without it. We don’t even realize she is missing an arm. I can say without a doubt that there is nothing this child cannot do. Often, children will come and ask why her arm is broken. We simply explain that God makes all of us different and that is how He made her. Most are satisfied with that answer and then amazed at how well she plays or does other activities, including cooking which is our family’s favorite hobby.
We all enter cooking contests at the state fair, make wedding cakes and special occasion cakes for people, and generally bond in the kitchen and over the dinner table. At 5, Emilie took first place in the Colorado State Fair junior pantry for her trail mix creation, competing in a division with children almost twice her age!
A SECOND SERVING
We knew we wanted to adopt another waiting child from China, but we also knew the financial requirements would be a challenge. It’s in moments like these we can see that God’s ways are larger than our ways, and he truly has a plan. Who would ever think that a can of Spam would help bring our daughter Lauren home from China?
My husband Ron is a software engineer with a cooking habit. His creation of Mini-Spam Nacho Burgers for the Great American Spam Championship at the Colorado State Fair took top honors. From there his recipe went on the win the national Spam recipe competition, where the top prize was a choice of a trip to Hawaii, or $3,000. We took the cash, which became the seed money to grow our family.
VARIETY IS GOD’S SPICE
Our family’s second special addition from China is a petite bundle of energy who loves Spiderman, Disney’s ‘Cars’ movie, and playing ‘mommy’ to all her dolls. While her ‘special need’ comes from being hearing impaired in one ear, it doesn’t slow her down at all. Our family is busier, and our house is filled with more laughs, more joy, and more love.
When families who are considering adoption ask me about adopting a special needs child, there are two things I like to share with them. The first is the fact that China and other international countries define ‘special needs’ in a far different way than we’re familiar with in the United States. There is a wide range of reasons a child is considered ‘special needs,’ including minor medical issues or if the child is a few years older.
I also tell them that every child has their own set of special needs, whether adopted or in a birth family. God gives each child and each one of us our own set of talents, skills and challenges. Some may be more visible than others, but its all part of God’s creation. I like how 1 Corinthians 12 explains, “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is…The variety is wonderful!”
GIVE A LIFE OF LOVE
If you are considering adopting a special needs child, I pray that our story will encourage your heart and that you’ll open your home to a child who needs your love so desperately. Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it — because it really does. Not just your life, but the life of an orphaned child.
Always be willing to give yourselves completely to the precious gifts God offers. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! He always gives us more than we could ever ask or think. Our family is living proof of His faithfulness. There are so many special needs children who are waiting for someone to accept them as the God-given gifts they are. Reach out with a life filled with love and welcome them home. It’s a great recipe for a loving family!
VIEW PHOTOS OF OUR WONDERFUL GIRLS!:
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