December 2, 2007 our ten year old daughter, Dani, will have been part of our family for three years. Originally, her parents’ rights were to be terminated in April of 2006. For various reasons, none of which were very good, that didn’t happen until September of 2006. Because of backlogs and workloads, her file didn’t make it from the foster care section to the adoption section, which are both located on the same floor, until February of 2007. Our homestudy had been updated in July of 2006 for our private adoption of a newborn so we were hoping Dani’s adoption would be complete before it expired in July of 2007. Well, that didn’t happen.

The adoption worker finally sent the packet off to the MCI’s office for approval on August 29, 2007. However, she informed us that all adoptions with a competing petition were taking six to eight months to come back from the MCI’s office. Regardless of circumstances of the competing petition or considering how unfit the competing party is to parent the child. The competing party is the family she was removed from twice by child protective services.

When she came to live with us, she had never been to church. This has been the case with nearly every child we have accepted into our home over the past 14 years of providing foster care. We prayed diligently about making her a permanent part of our family and about her adoption as the Bible commands us to do.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving make your requests known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

As the adoption process seemed to take forever, especially in the eyes of a child under 10, her behavior worsened. Oh sure, we assured her that we would adopt her, but hadn’t her own relatives made promises to her as well? For the past year, we have dealt with lying, sneaking, refusing to do schoolwork and chores, and other passive aggressive behaviors. We knew what a wonder child she was inside and at the age of seven and eight. We knew that there wasn’t any way to resolve this behavior until her adoption was completed. We were looking at almost another year before that could happen.

We asked all of the families in our homeschool group, over a hundred, to pray that God would pass the paperwork through, quickly. We also asked our church family to pray with us. We had read “The Hiding Place,” and we were encouraged by God’s work in Corrie ten Boom’s life. Specifically, the times God helped her conceal a Bible in the concentration camps, and when she was “mistakenly” released from the concentration camp.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7

We received a call on Monday from our adoption worker. She had gotten approval from the MCI’s office for our adoption after only two months. One she sent in April still has not come back. Our worker indicated that she would have everything ready for us to finalize our daughter’s adoption on National Adoption Day, November 20.

Related topics:
Did You Ever Think, “My Child’s Special Needs Are Too Much to Handle?”
Consider Asking Your Adopted Daughter to Sign a Purity Contract
Why Do Adoptive Families of Special Needs Children Usually Pray?


Photo Credit 2007 Julia Fuller