Years before we ever adopted our daughter, we called her by name. Each night my husband and I would pray together out loud for our daughter "Grace". We did this for four years. Many times through those four years I wanted to give up, throw in the towel because I thought that God would never send us His Grace. Was He really even there?
Baby clothes drying at the orphanage Thankfully, God did answer our prayers. A week after we received the news that we had a daughter, my husband and I jumped on a plane to Guatemala, raced to a tiny orphanage in the middle of a crowded, polluted city; and laid our eyes on the teeniest, tiniest five pound six-week-old. I remember my index finger tracing the outline of her miniature features. She was our daughter, but she was not Grace.
Holding our daughter for the first time
While we waited back home in the U.S. (without her) for her adoption to become finalized in Guatemala, she remained nameless for months. I whispered cute names out loud in private to test how they would sound. Sophia?... Emma?... Eva?... all beautiful, but not right.
Daddy and daughter~ Antigua, Guatemala
One evening I ran across a new blog with an adorable toddler who was also adopted. Her mama posted a picture of her in a new shirt. The little shirt had "Isabella" monogrammed across the front. I don't know what it was about the shirt- I swear it spoke to me- Name your daughter "Isabella", and we did. I never told anyone about that night, nor about that little shirt.
Fast forward two years.
Now here's the part that I'm still trying to wrap my mind around...
Guess what just arrived in the mail Monday out of the blue? That same shirt- sent by the mother who posted that picture two years ago. There are lots and lots of Isabellas she could have sent it to, but for some reason she felt she needed to send it to me. I told this mom the story of her daughter's shirt. She was stunned!
This is the shirt that sealed the deal. Thank you! Thank you, L.L.!
To me it's God's fingerprint in the tiniest of details.
Have you, by chance, seen His fingerprint lately in your life? I would love to hear about it!
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Big Kahuna and I have known each other since we were kids and have been married for almost 15 years. We are passionate about our family, travel and serving God. We love helping people and bringing them hope. We laugh ourselves to tears watching classic episodes of Saturday Night Live and The Office. Summer is our favorite season, and we live for warm evenings playing with the kids on the beach.
Big Surf is 14 years old. He's a voracious reader, focused, and spends hours building things. He is our resident techie and is also learning to play the violin. He loves to spend his free time playing baseball, flag football, or out on the trails by the house building his clubhouse.
Goofy Foot is ten years old. He devours his free reading books like there is no tomorrow. He is also the family comedian. If you see him, ask him to tell you a joke! He is tender-hearted, social and compliant. When he is not outside riding his bike, you'll find him drawing or writing a funny book.
Beach Bunny is three years old. She is our sunshine! She joined our family through the unbelievable gift of adoption. Beach Bunny loves to snuggle with us and carefully takes care of her baby dolls. She is super silly and must say hi to everyone! One word that describes her is "joy".
19 comments:
What a beautiful post!
Thats a wonderful story..wow God is good!!!
i posted last week about how i was haveing a CRAPPY week and out of the blue my sponsored child from Guatemala sent me a homemade thank you pic!!! IT was Gods work and i felt soo good!!!
hugs,leslie
I still get shocked about how God works in the smallest, most amazing ways, but we should just expect it. He is bigger than we can even wrap our head around. Your Isabella will be precious in the shirt that named her!!!
He is in the tiniest of details! This just brought tears to my eyes and I had to stop and pray for our Isabella's. I pray we get to meet one day here on earth! :) Big hugs and lots of love to you and your family.
Laurie
Mama to the other Isabella!
Ooh I forgot to tell you about His latest fingerprint in my life! The other day it just popped in my head I need to contact Clare about Guatoberfest. She is a Guate mama I met in Guatemala on our pickup trip that I have stayed in contact with. I emailed her about the get together, she emailed back she wasn't sure if her principal would let her miss a week of school, she talked to her principal and without hesitation said she was all for her going on the trip! Woo Hoo! Thank you Lord! I'm gonna get to see this family I figured I might never see after we parted ways in the airport 3.5 years ago!
That is awesome...we had a moment like that too. Our daughter was supposed to be Isabella. Dmitry talked about baby Bella for years...but when the referral came she wasn't Isabella. We decided on Sophia Rose and when I got home I had an email from my mom saying she did not look like Isabella but like...Sophia Rose :)
I love how loudly you proclaim your love for the Lord, it is just a true blessing. Thank you.
WOW, I have goosebumps, but why am I surprised? God is in EVERY detail!! He truly is AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing!!
Great story and yes, my little miracle came from that very same little orphanage (as you know), and when I got her email, it read: Ana Cristina DOB: 3/26/2007 and without opening it, I looked at my husband and said here is our baby and this is God's way of showing us this is the right baby! 3/26 is my birthday and Ana is my Mother-in-laws name, every daughter born in my husband's family is Anna-lissa or Anna bella etc. God is here and he shows us often we just need to see more.
Melissa
What a wonderful story. I also adopted my daughter from Guatemala. We have loved keeping up with you. If you'd like to visit us we are at:
http://www.howdoyoumeasureayear.blogspot.com
Lynn and (my) Grace
Oh my gosh, what a sweet story! beautiful name and what a cute shirt!!!
Hey there! What a great story! I myself was also adopted.
Thanks so much for stopping by Fort Thompson and signing up to follow us in the Blog Frog community. Please feel free to follow along in the main followers link at the top as well.
Im so glad you found us as I LOVE your blog. You have a beautiful family and I look forward to gettting to know you better.
Love and Prayers,
Tim
That's an incredible story... amazing. It is a beautiful name for a very beautiful girl.
Gods work never fails to amaze me. Everytime I look at Faith and see her little personality develop I'm amazed how the Lord had made her for us and us for her. Her personality is so reminicent of myself and my older daughter. I know God is working wonders with my precious Angel, myself and her Daddy.
It's wonderful to hear you receive all the wonderful treasures and gifts God showers you with. Love that story and the whispers of God's heart. Hugs friend, Susie
Hi there... thank you so much for saying hello. I love your blog also. I will be adding your button to mine as well. I love how you do your blog roll. I have the scroll one, but I like how you can control the blog buttons manually. Can you share that secret? You can email directly if you want.
Also, what a great story about your daughter and the shirt. The name fits her.....She is too precious.
Ill have more pics to post about the Yankees and Red Sox game last night. It was a blast and we got a ton of great shots.
God Bless
Oh wow!! What an amazing story!!
Here's mine...On April 11, 2007 I sent a prayer with an adopting mom traveling to Guatemala who organized a worldwide prayer/meditation called "The Journey to Find a Home Meditation." Families from all over the world sent her photos of their Guatemalan children, prayers, poems, meditations, and more. At that time, we were still on the waiting list and anxiously waiting for that call. On that day, I sent a prayer request for our child's BM as she made the most difficult decision of her life. I didn't know it at the time, but that was the day Eli was born. My eyes still well up when I think about that!
What a great story!!! And, Oh, I recognize that shirt, because I LOVE that shirt and I remember the first time I saw it as well. I had already picked out my Isabela's name when I saw it, but I loved the color combo and design. What special meaning it has to you, and how awesome that Laurie sent it.
What a beautiful story!!
Hmmm... my comment did not show up from the other day... but it gave me time to read through these other comments.
God is amazing at how He perfectly directs our children right into our lives. What a beautiful story! I had a feeling right away at which Isabella that shirt came from and then saw Laurie's comment... what a beautiful connection to two lovely little Bellas!
Wouldn't it be fun for you to come to G-fest too... it would be too much fun!
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