Shine On: An Adoption Story

Jasmine's first day with us.

Our daughter came to us through tumultuous circumstances. My husband and I had only been licensed foster parents for a month when we got the call to take a sweet baby girl, just three months old. She was physically healthy, in an emergency home for the time being, but they wondered: Would we be interested in taking her?

With nary a thought of consulting my husband, the words tumbled out before the social worker could even finish, “Yes! We’d love to take her.” 

I remember that long holiday weekend spent going home to paint with my husband the room she’d be sleeping in and setting up a borrowed crib. Praying for the weekend to pass quickly, afraid the emergency home might decide she was too precious and want to keep her, anxiously awaiting her arrival that Tuesday afternoon. 

Jasmine's adoption day!

Six years have come and gone since that day, and I remember the emotion of it all as if it were still happening. We were so excited and naïve. We saw this child as nothing but a blessing. Pure light in our lives. A gift.

The year of her arrival was full of fear and joy, sorrow and miracles. We learned of the circumstances surrounding her birth parents. Their frailty. Their humanness. They weren’t bad people, just ones with difficulties that hindered them from caring for their child. They loved her; we knew that. And my heart broke for them.

How does God make right all this mess? How does he bring good from hard situations?

Sometimes I just don’t know.

And then I see her now, this beautiful child that God created out of a situation of brokenness. This light. And I’m reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:11 that says, “God has made everything beautiful for its own time.”

And I don’t know what your past entails. I don’t know what heartache you’ve known. I don’t know what you’ve had to walk through in your life (or what you may still be walking through).

But I do know this: I’ve seen God make something lovely out a situation that, on the surface, looked unlovely. He brought something beautiful out of someone’s brokenness.

And every day as I look at my daughter’s shining face I’m reminded that God can take my mistakes, my missteps, and by his grace, make something lovely again.

Are you looking for more encouragement around raising a family? Have you checked out our books?

Our newest book, 100 Daily Acts of Friendship for Girls, is written specifically for girls ages 8-12 as they navigate friendships in upper elementary and middle school. With a scripture, short story, reflection questions and 50 fun activities to do with you or friends, it's a wonderful way to encourage your daughter, niece, granddaughter, God daughter and her friends to build healthy friendships from an early age.

And our adult friendship devotional, The One Year Daily Acts of Friendship is a perfect compliment to our book for tweens. With a daily scripture, story, and friendship prompt, its encouraging and slightly challenging (in a good way!) as you find, keep, and love your friends.   

We've also written two kindness devotionals, The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness and 100 Days of Kindness. They tell the story of how our families embarked on a one-year journey of kindness, and include our successes, failures, and the encouragement you need as a family to incorporate kindness into your own life.

We would love to walk alongside you in encouragement, inspiration, and community. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram as The Ruth Experience or sign up for our monthly newsletter (no spam, ever), here.

If you already have one of our books and love them, we'd so appreciate it if you leave a review on Amazon. 

We're in this together,

Kendra, Julie, and Kristin

Today we are once again linking up with Holley Gerth for Coffee for your heart, Jennifer Dukes Lee for TellHisStory, and Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood for the SDG Gathering.