Surprised by Love: Overwhelming Support

After years of waiting, we finally brought home our little Chipmunk a few weeks ago.  Darling husband and I have been talking about her and dreaming of her since before we were married.  And now she's here and I am utterly, terribly in love.  Her cooing, and snuggles, her precious smiles that light up my heart -- well, if you've had a wee little one like this, then you know what I mean.

So many things are different this time around.  When we brought home All Star and Sugar Monkey we felt a wide array of feelings.  We loved them and wanted to play with them and pour our hearts and love into them, but there were numerous challenges as well that made us feel exhausted, overwhelmed, lost, even desperate.  I'm not sure if you can relate to those feelings.  This little girl, however, seems like a precious gift to remind us of who God is, who we are in Him, and to just bring an abundance of joy where many sore places in our heart needed a balm.

Can I tell you one surprise that I never expected?
Pause before I answer and let me tell you that Hubby and I never really fundraised.  We were busy with ministry and we didn't want to be a burden on our friends and family.  Often in our self-depreciation, we felt like we weren't sure if we had any close friends.  We do ministry, which brings us around people all the time, but we don't often really get to spend dedicated evenings with friends to just hang out -- we haven't in years.  We're a mess, I know.  So basically, we just felt like how could we really go about fundraising and asking people to support us when this was just *our* journey that we felt like we needed to go at alone.

But I was wrong.  In lieu of fundraising, we brought home Chipmunk and EVERYONE wanted to support us.  A friend set up a meal train and we had food brought in for three weeks!  People that I didn't know felt anything for us were bringing us carefully planned out meals in disposable boxes with paper plates and cups.  We had messages from people on Facebook from people whom I haven't seen in years asking if we needed anything, and what can they bring, how they can help.  We had neighbors bringing gifts of clothes and food.  I literally kept a list (for thank you card purposes, you know) of who all helped and had three pages of people.

Now, for you extroverts out there, that may not seem like a big deal -- but for introverted ole me, who practically only leaves the house for grocery runs and gas fill-ups (I may exaggerate) this was overwhelming and shocking.

And it occurred to me, as I'm slow to realizations, that our community wants to be part of adoption.  Our community -- yours and mine -- wants to share in our joy and be part of supporting this work God has placed on our hearts.  How silly of me to not trust that what God planned for us, He would support through the hearts of people in our lives.  How silly of me to have thought I was alone.  God never leaves us alone. Never.

So if you are thinking about adoption, consider being surprised by love.  Consider putting your heart out there and allowing the gift & blessing of others joining in your story.  You're not alone either.  Emanuel = God with us   It is His name.  It is his promise.  Don't make the same mistake I did and forget.

My Favorite Adoption Fundraisers!

Both domestic and international adoptions are expensive, but even adopting waiting children or fostering can significantly impact your family finances.  There are lots of ways that families fundraise, including taking on direct sale careers such as Pampered Chef, Thirty One, or Tupperware.  Some families have a creative person in the mix and make their own jewelry or design their own t-shirt as a personal fundraiser.  Many of these can be found on Etsy or even listed on eBay.

However, some folks prefer to use a product specifically designed for fundraising.  Below are some of my favorite adoption fundraising sites!


147 Million Orphans -- This organization has tons of apparel and accessories that say, "147 million orphans."  This is the estimated number of orphans globally and the clothing becomes an excellent conversation catalyst for sharing WHY we are adopting and fostering.  

wildOlive -- This store offers fundraising options of their t-shirt and accessory designs.  What is fantastic about their shop is that they market t-shirts that have a Christian significance and might have a wider audience appeal that something that speaks specifically to adoption.  They have beautiful designs and are definitely a place to check out if you are needing a creative fundraiser.

Rebekah Blocher -- is a jewelry artisan.  She makes 

incredibly beautiful clay jewelry that is unlike anything I've seen anywhere.  I'm absolutely in love with it.  She offers her jewelry as a means to fundraising and you can contact her about how that works.  Her jewelry is really has a wide range of appeal in that she has Christian designs and also more wide-ranging designs that would be popular across the female gender.

My Crazy Adoption -- This is Kari Gibson's store.  Since beginning her adoption, she has been an adoption advocate and has used this store to help reach communities all over the world!  She designs beautiful t-shirts and has a fundraising program that is well-established.  Her site is fantastic as she's a woman whose dreams seem impossible and then God does the impossible through her.

{more coming . . .}