Our Adoption Testimony
When my wife and I found out that her sister, a struggling drug addict of nearly 10 years, was pregnant, we were in shock. A whirlwind of questions came rushing into our minds. One that we could not shake was, would we end up adopting this child? At the time we had a newborn of our own and the thought of adopting another child close in age was overwhelming and frightening. We knew that if it was God’s will, He would equip us to provide a home to this little boy. Whatever decisions were made for this child, the premise needed to be based on his ultimate best interests, which would hopefully include a stable, loving family away from the dangers of drugs. We knew that our willingness to adopt this child was a matter of obedience to Christ, and to not consider it would be disobedience. So we eagerly waited and prayed until Austin was born, not knowing what the outcome would be but trusting that the Lord was in it all.
In answer to our prayers Austin Noah was born July 7, 2009 and he was “perfectly and wonderfully made.” His first few months were with his birth mom and grandmother (Erin’s mom) in his grandmother’s house. However, his mother’s drug addictions proved too strong and she left Austin with his grandmother at 3 months of age. She was not yet willing to give him up for adoption, but also not able to care for him. As we watched him being raised by Debbie, Erin's mom, we saw her love him as if he were her own child, but she worked full-time and was single, she had no help. Then we looked at our own family. Our son, Josiah, had more than enough love and attention, he had two parents, two sets of grandparents, lots of “aunties” and “uncles.” We couldn’t help but ask, how could we not give to Austin what our own son was getting? There was more than enough love in our family to go around.
Furthermore, while reading Scripture and meditating on the Gospel and some of its’ implications, again the question arose: how could we not adopt Austin? God has clearly said in His word to take care of the widow and orphans (Jms 1:7). God’s heart is for the fatherless and we all have been adopted by Him as his sons and daughters. Without adoption, we would all be lost without hope! So with that clear mandate from Scripture, we could not escape the obviousness of the situation: if God put us in a position to father the fatherless, how could we not? Of course, circumstances were overwhelming, family was complicated, life was already crazy with an infant, but we had to trust.
When Austin was a little younger than one, his birth-mom was arrested a second time. At first she seemed interested in getting sober, but as time went on she made it clear that she was not going to. She got out of jail on January 31, 2011. She did not contact Austin, or anyone else in the family. During the months leading up to her release date and after, we made sure we had frequent contact with Austin, he came up from Orange County once a month, we would go down as often as we could. In April, he came to visit during Spring Break. Erin’s mother called half way through the week and said that maybe he should stay. It was heart breaking for her, but she knew it was the best for Austin. He was getting older and more aware of what was going on, the longer we waited the harder it would be for him. And so we said yes! It wasn’t at all what we planned, but we knew God had His hand in it. Erik rearranged his schedule so he would be at home with the boys 3 days a week, and we would only have to have someone watch them for a few hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He began to call us mom and dad, Josiah his brother, and we watched as God knitted our family together. Six months after his birth-mom’s release we began the legal process of adopting, although the work was already done in our hearts.
We felt encouraged by God to remember that we did not have to have all the answers or the resources. All we had to do was be available and trust Him. So that’s what we’re doing with this situation. My wife and I have decided to “seek first His kingdom” by taking care of the needs of this little child who has become our son.
The road has not been easy (from what we hear adoption never is) and we hit a few more bumps along the way. We had no idea the finances it would require: although Austin is our nephew, our adoption is essentially a private adoption, requiring a private attorney, and as a result a large amount of legal fees; this is what led us to Lifesong
Our next court appearances was on December 19, at which the judge would terminate all parental rights. We thought we were in the free and clear, but one legal techanicality was that we had to post a notice in the newspaper stating our intention to adopt. Against all odds the biological father saw it and chose to contest.
The next step was a trial, where we would have to prove that the biological father had in fact abandoned Austin. The case would not be a difficult one to prove. He had never attempted to see him or support him in any way.
On March 20, 2012 we arrived to court ready to fight for our son; but the victory was already one. He did not appear and all parental rights were terminated. On June 25, Austin legally became part of our family forever!! One of the happiest days of our life.
People often say, "Austin is blessed to have you" but in all honesty we are blessed to have him. He is a gift from God and our family would not be complete without him.
