An Adoption Story: Cassie & Jordan
Right from the beginning it was clear that Cassie and Jordan were all in towards their adoption journey. They were thoughtful and intentional about each question they asked, took initiative to learn, making sure they were as educated as possible about adoption, and truly had a special place in their hearts for birth families. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know Cassie & Jordan. It has been a true privilege to pray for them and to serve them during one of the most vulnerable and special times in their lives.
Adoption is beautiful, but it is also rooted in loss. Which in turn makes it complicated. There is a lot of sorrow and valleys in the process, for each member of the adoption triad. Cassie and Jordan always held space for this. They were genuine and compassionate towards each situation they prayed over and presented to.
God’s sovereignty prevailed to grow their family through adoption and to see them open up their hearts and home to Henry and his birth family.
Over the last year, I've thought about writing this so many times; I just couldn't figure out how to encapsulate our experience and gratitude. I'm still not sure if I can, but I will try. Most often, when I get to talk about our adoption story in real life, I find myself just praising God for His faithfulness and timing in bringing Henry to our lives. He is such a special boy, and we feel so honored every day that we get to be his parents.
We pursued adoption out of love for our future child(ren) and their first family, as well as out of our own inability to conceive. We were told by fertility specialists that we would never be able to have bio kids outside of IVF, which we didn't feel called to pursue. Though our diagnosis was incredibly painful news and a deep valley in our marriage, I now thank God for that diagnosis because it led us to Henry. After a year of grieving and healing from our infertility season, we felt called to put our "yes" on the table and pursue adoption.
Getting started was a step of faith in itself because Jordan is Active Duty in the Army, and we were only slated to live in VA for one year. We were aware that it can take longer to match with a birth family and complete the adoption process. We battled fears of going through the home study and waiting process only to be forced to re-start and move again empty-handed. But, God. My sister shared with us about CAC, and her friend helped us to connect with Samantha. After our first consult with Samantha, we felt emboldened in our faith to say "yes" and wait on God who would act in His loving timing and will.
Throughout our journey, Samantha encouraged us in the truth of God's care for us and His heart for first families. She spoke with grace as we talked through complex situations and laid our "yes" on the line time and time again. Each time we were not chosen, she reminded us not to feel rejected but prayerful -- both toward the specific "not this time" situation and toward the future child or children He would call us to love and welcome. In that way, we felt connected to so many birth families during our journey -- even those we never got to meet. We got to pray for them and their children; to ask God to pour out His mercy and blessing on them; to entrust them into God's care even as we relinquished them from our hopes and dreams. Connecting in this way with so many birth families was the most surprising aspect of our adoption journey. The wait didn't feel wasted; there was plenty of work to do and love to invest while we waited to unite with our child and his first family.
Four days before Christmas, God brought about that longed-for connection. It was a Christmas miracle! We began loving and praying diligently for the child we believed God was bringing into our home and his first family. Less than two months later, we were home with our sweet Henry. He is our first miracle and an undeserved, unearned gift of God's favor in our lives. We cherish his birth family in our hearts and home, and we pray diligently for their flourishing.
Thank you, Samantha, for all you did to walk alongside us in our adoption journey. God used you in our hearts and lives during that season, and we'll be forever grateful to you and CAC.
