Behind the (Adoption) Scenes

Clementine - She will always
be loved by our family!

Yesterday I saw a blog on the Reece's Rainbow facebook page from a family who has adopted twice before. Because I know their story & the blog title peaked my interest, I clicked the link. I never would have guessed what I would see. They are adopting little Mary!

My brain made the connection - this is the family who wanted Clementine & discovered she was unavailable. This is the family who helped redirect Clementine's grant. This is the family who SAW Mary.

I messaged the mom yesterday & told her how thrilled I was that Mary would have a family. She responded & shared a little more of their story (which you can read at their blog - http://covenantbuilders.blogspot.com/ - seriously, go read it. You won't be disappointed.) I was very glad that she didn't think I was creepy for messaging her!

As I was getting ready this morning, it was like God finally pulled back the curtains to show me all that has been happening over the past few years to get Mary into a family. On my end, this is how things went down:

• - I saw a bunch of little girls between 5 & 9 on the Reece's Rainbow website & fell in love with all of them
• I wanted to adopt, but due to time, space, & moving, we just couldn't, so I started advocating & raising money instead.
• In fall 2016 I signed up to be a Christmas warrior & gave a list of 3 children I would like to advocate for.
• I was given my first choice, Lynda, but then I was informed that she had a family (YAY!), so I was asked if I would raise money for my second choice, Clementine.
• I raised money during the holidays for my sweet Christmas child & fell more & more in love with her, eventually approaching Derrick about trying to adopt her.
• When we determined that we couldn't adopt her, I kind of took a break from advocating as much. I was so sad that I just COULDN'T do anything else.
• I was told by another adoptive mom that another family had asked for more information about Clementine, but had been informed that she had already been adopted. I was told that her grant money could be moved to another child. 
• I contacted the person in charge of the grants & suggested Mary receive Clementine's money &  found out that the Nalle family had suggested Mary, too.
  

Mary - look at that precious face!

As I look back through all of this, God showed me how He has been working. Clementine was listed on Reece's Rainbow several years ago, but disappeared, then reappeared this last year. I committed to raise money for her at Christmas, putting her face out there again. The Nalle family saw Clementine & were drawn to adopt again. Where did she go the first time & why was she relisted? I don't know for sure, but I have to believe that she was listed so that she could help Mary get a family.

And now here we are - the Nalle family is adopting little Mary. 

What if I had ignored the feeling I had about raising money for a Christmas child? What if I had decided it was too far out of my comfort zone, so I did nothing? What if Clementine hadn't made it on the Christmas fundraiser page? Would Mary still have a family coming right now?

If you donated, prayed, or shared Clementine during the Christmas season, then you helped Mary find a home! You are helping to fund her adoption! You are making a difference for a little girl who may not have the hope of a future if she is left where she is!

I'd love to see growth in the Nalle family's grant today. They are amazing & I am thrilled to know that Mary is going to be a part of their family! They have lost several children through their adoption processes, through no fault of their own, but they are continuing to push forward & follow God's calling in their lives. Let's support them both financially & through prayer as they go on this journey!