Jesus Said Yes! Part2

This is the Lord's doing,and it is marvelous in our eyes

Psalm 118:23







Little did I know what would begin to unfold over the next few minutes, hours, days, and weeks.

“God, be bold!” was the prayer my friend prayed as she got off the phone with me. As soon as I hung up the phone I called my other sweet friend.

She answered the phone and quickly said, “Have you seen the list, have you gone back and looked at the waiting children’s list? “No” I said. She then told me that a few children had been added to a “waiting children’s list” I had sent her the day before. You need to go look NOW! I logged on to the computer, went to the website and she said, “look at who they added today!”

I then saw the name BELLA!

I about fell off my chair! Could this be happening? Could this be the Bella our little Esther had been praying for over the last few months? I think I just kept saying “oh my goodness!” Mike was in the living room with the kids hot gluing a football field costume for Hank, when I heard him ask “what is going on?”

I said “there is a Bella, they added a Bella to a waiting children’s list today! I think the words out of his mouth were “No, are you serious?!” Esther overheard the commotion and ran to the computer to see the sweet little face on the screen. She began to say over and over,”My Bella, my sister!” We quickly told her we didn’t know if this was her sister, as Mike and I looked at each other in shock!

“What do we do now” I said, “Should we request her file?” I knew nothing about this particular agency, I did not know how they handled their special need program. What I did know was that we would need to move quickly. With no hesitation he said he thought we should look at her file if it was available, pray and see what God does. I quickly sent an email to the agency requesting her information if it was available.

We put the kids to bed, and as Mike and I went to sleep that night we talked about all that was unfolding and we prayed together. I will never forget the prayer that Mike prayed that night. He said “I surrender God, I surrender my plans, if this little girl is our little Bella then save her for us and if she is not please bring her another family, either way may she have a family.”

Needless to say I had a difficult time sleeping that night. I was anxious to know more about this little girl, who was already finding a place in my heart. I called the agency the next morning to see if they had received my request for information. They received our request along with over 200 others for this list of children. We are working through them and will let you know where you are on the waiting list to review her file. A few days later this was the email we received from the agency

Hello Mike and Sarah,
Thank you for your interest in Bella. She is currently being viewed by two families; therefore her file is on hold. We are placing your application on a waiting list. You are #2 on the list. We will notify you if a family declines, making her file available. Thank you.

We just kept praying, knowing that God would indeed need to “save” her for our family. Honestly we knew the odds were against us, but we also knew that “nothing is impossible for our God!”
A few weeks had gone by, and I checked every day to see if her photo was still available. Finally I called the agency to ask a few questions. I did not want my heart to get anymore attached if it wasn’t even a possibility for our family to adopt her. I knew every agency had different rules on who they would let move forward with an adoption. I had a few concerns:

· It had not been a full year since we came home with Hudson;

· We had not begun any paperwork for another adoption;

· This child was only 6 months older then Hudson.

So I called and I asked about these things and I was told that Bella’s file was being reviewed, that she was going to be an “easy to place” child since her special need was minor and she was very young, and that they would give preference to a paperwork ready family (which I totally understood). They also said they like to have siblings be at least a year apart. I told the coordinator I think I know the answer then and thank you for your time. I called Mike and although my heart was a little disappointed, I truly did have a peace that God was in control and that this must not be His will for our family.

About a half hour later the phone rang and it was the coordinator from the adoption agency. She said “Sarah I know that I dashed all of your hopes regarding Bella, but we just found out that the first two families reviewing Bella’s file have decided not to move forward and you are next on the list to review her file. We have spoken as an agency and have decided that if you would like to review her file you can!!!”

I was speechless… ONLY GOD!!! I called Mike and he said that he had not told me earlier but that somehow he knew it was not over, that when he had seen Bella’s little face a few weeks earlier he knew she was ours! We said yes to our girl at that moment and praised God for choosing us to be her family!

We do NOT deserve this amazing gift, but with joyful hearts we say THANK YOU JESUS!!! Thank you for whispering Bella's name into Esther's heart and for hearing the faithful prayers of this precious three year old girl. Thank you for opening our eyes and for placing your desires within our hearts to accomplish your plan. Thank you for Bella, and thank you for loving her and for placing your hand upon her life.
We rejoice in all that you have done!

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12.