One in a Million: Adoption Story

“One in a Million” is a true, adoption story shared by guest writer, Kristi Butler, in honor of Adoption Awareness Month.

One in a Million

by Kristi M. Butler

Our fourth baby was conceived in the shallow end of our neighborhood pool.

In our hearts, that is.

Halfway around the world, she was not yet a twinkle in her birth mother’s eye. That was all subject to God’s perfect timing…and, I believe, His plan since the beginning of time.

It was a sweltering summer day. My three daughters and I joined neighbors for an afternoon in the cool of the pool. As the kids played, we parents chatted as we lounged on the steps in the shallow water. The conversation that ensued was one that changed the life of our family forever.

One of our friends was in seminary, preparing for a commitment to long-term service on the mission field in China. He discussed a book that he was reading about the culture. He told us many interesting facts. He shared about the one child policy in effect at that time, and how every year over a 1,000,000 babies are abandoned.

 One million.

Adoption Seed

A seed was planted in my heart.

As soon as my husband got home from work that evening, I told him about the conversation. His response was immediate. “Let’s go get one.”

It wasn’t that simple…or God’s timing.

Months turned into years as God worked to prepare our hearts and our home for blessing beyond measure.

Then one day on our annual family beach vacation, He clearly shouted, “It’s time!” Not audibly, but through the faces of two darling, obviously adopted, Asian children playing right near our chairs. I could not take my eyes off them! I knew that there was a little girl with almond eyes, olive skin, and dark hair in our family’s future. Immediately upon our return home, we connected with an adoption agency, were counseled and began our process…lots of documents to fill out, a home study, meetings with agency staff, fingerprinting, government formalities, and finally our dossier to China!

The wait seemed endless, but one day a phone call finally came…a description of the little one that would belong to us. Her name. The news that photographs would soon arrive in the mail.

Why Adopt?

My eyes still fill with tears to remember seeing that face for the first time. OUR daughter, half a world away. Showing the pictures to family and friends was thrilling. Although, one comment sticks out in my mind to this day. When sharing our plans to adopt, someone said, “So what made you decide to do this?” I replied that ultimately it was an act of obedience to a calling we believed God placed on our lives. I then mentioned the statistic of one million babies being abandoned each year. To that he responded, “So what are you going to do? Adopt a million?”

Let’s just say that I am a believer in the ripple effect. Our “pebble” of obedience thrown with reckless abandon into the ocean bridging America and China has produced many ripples as we’ve been witness to God placing the same call on the hearts of friends, co-workers, church members, and others that God brought across our path! And their “pebbles” produce their own ripples. And so on. And so on.

Our “gotcha day” finally arrived. Our family became complete. I’m so thankful that we said, “Yes” to God! Our lives have been blessed beyond measure.

Adoption: Pray, Give, Go

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. How has God called you to join Him in bringing orphans into forever families? First, please commit to PRAY for the children that need homes. Then, if you can, find a way to GIVE financially to agencies that minister to the little ones or those raising monies to bring their babies home. Finally, perhaps God is even calling you to GO and be a ripple in the water…bringing one of the “million” into your own family.

James 1:27 (NIV) says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress….”

Are you ready to do YOUR part? It’s for His Kingdom. You will be blessed!*

*This story was first published by Just18Summers.com in November 2018.

Kristi, we appreciate this sweet, adoption story. Thank you for suggesting we pray and to consider giving and going. God provides a variety of opportunities for us to participate in His work. 

Do any of you readers have something you’d like to say about adoption, or a comment or question for Kristi?

Kristi Butler is wife to 1, Mom to 4, and Grandmommy to 6! She has written for Focus on the Family’s parenting newsletter and Clubhouse, Jr. Magazine. She was a featured blogger for Carolina Parent magazine and a contributor to DevoKids, Inspire a Fire, The Write Conversation, and Just18Summers. Kristiis author to the Amazing Grace Acres series of books. The first four books in the series are Groundhog Day in Amazing Grace Acres, Christmas in Amazing Grace Acres, G is for Groundhog [her first (mostly) nonfiction, alphabet, rhyming book!] and Gracie and Grover Go to the Beach!  You can check out her groundhoggy fun at www.amazinggraceacres.blogspot.com.