Kristin Hill Taylor

Seeking God as the Author of Every Story

Mom of Three {an adoption post for #ThreeWordWednesday}

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I used to think I wanted my kids close in age, but I realized a long time ago I’m in control of the timing and growth of our family. In fact, I had to lay down my desire to adopt a third time because I wasn’t sure it was going to happen and I struggled to separate what I wanted from what God was calling us to do.

{I talk about learning about waiting on God and laying down that desire in my ebook, “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family,” which is available on Amazon and needs to be updated now that God grew our family again. But through Friday, Oct. 2, “Peace in the Process” is on sale for 99 cents, if you want the full back story of how we got here and what God taught me along the way. And feel free to tweet about the deal.}

But guess what? God’s timing has been perfect … of course!

I have an 8-year-old girl who is in third grade and a kindergartner boy who turns 6 in less than two months. And, let me tell you, they adore their baby sister. They literally have argued over who is going to hold her or sit next to her in the van. (We currently have a week-to-week rotation of who is in the middle of the minivan next to Rachel and who has to settle for the back seat.)

Cate is a feeding champion – and I’m working on convincing her that she would excel at changing diapers too. Ben likes to be near her and has found his way downstairs into her room a few times in the middle of the night when he hears her crying for her next bottle. This boy was meant to be a middle child. With the initials BLT, he’s perfectly sandwiched between two girls.

For this momma of three, having two in school and a baby at home is a whole different world than last time I had a baby – and a toddler who was 2 1/2. Sure, Rachel and I have had some slow days at home settling in together, but our lives have continued with Greg working and the big kids playing soccer. Beyond logistics, God has me prepared to be a mom again. My perspective is different and I’m more confident. I bring more than eight years of motherhood experiences with me. I know more about what matters and what doesn’t.

Before Rachel was born, I was ready – not ready like my house was perfect and my life completely under control, but ready like my heart knew what God had done. I was in place I could truly rejoice in his faithfulness.

The hardest part (so far) of being a mom of three is the waking up in the middle of the night. Y’all, we’ve been sleeping (mostly) through the night for many years. But knowing God prepared us and designed this for us in his time makes me appreciate the middle-of-the-night snuggles with my girl more than I did with the other two as newborns.

(Don’t let me totally fool you though, I will rejoice when she sleeps through the night too.)

I’m grateful to be a mom of three for many reasons, but I’m especially because I believe this is what God planned for me. {Tweet that.} Yes, I had doubts this third time would happen, and I was going to be okay with that because my life already overflowed with blessings. But I’m grateful I indeed heard God right years ago about the third child, even if my timing was totally out of sync with God’s.

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I shared other parts of Rachel’s adoption story here …

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Want more insights? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

Three Word Wednesday :: God is detailed

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Looking back on what God has done in my life is always good for my soul. Lately, I’ve had lots of conversations with other women in the midst of their own adoption processes. Some are there for the first time, others have been there before. Regardless, I know how God works in the hearts of mommas preparing to open their homes to babies in this way.

A writer friend of mine recently posted on Facebook Psalm 116:7 :: “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” She also talked about how this verse is where God had brought her after a long season of miscarriages and the more recent birth of her third child. 

 I get it. I haven’t had miscarriages, but I know the heartache of not understanding God’s plan to grow my family. I know how waiting is hard. But I’ve learned God is faithful and hears the desires of our hearts. In his time, we get to understand more of the plan.

 With that in mind, I thought I’d share an excerpt from my ebook, “Peace in the Process.” Honestly, I just didn’t have many new words for #ThreeWordWednesday and I needed this reminder myself. I hope it encourages you, whether or not you’re in the midst of adoption. 

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At the time we were preparing for our second adoption, I studied “A Woman’s Heart” by Beth Moore with some ladies at church, learning about the Israelites’ experience building the Tabernacle and drawing parallels to the ways God dwells in his believers. God wanted the earthly Tabernacle to be a replica of a heavenly plan, so much so he instructed the Israelites how to build things, where to put them, and how to decorate them. Yes, our God is someone who appreciates and notices details. {Tweet that.}

Even knowing what God had done for us through Cate’s adoption, I clung to Beth Moore’s words:

“God is detailed. He is not a God of generalities. He is a God of individuality. Do not let Satan convince you that God is not actively involved in the intricate design of your life. God has not missed a single stitch or left a stone unturned on your behalf; furthermore, His activity in the details of your life most often displays His glory and beauty.”

The same God builds families. He has different ways of doing so, but He’s the master planner of them all. And God has been in the business of making families for many generations. Beth Moore commented in one of the Bible study videos that every time God makes childlessness an issue in the Bible as he did with Elizabeth, Hannah and Sarah, he is preparing his people for a miracle.

Every time.

Pregnancy comes easily to so many people – some of whom take the life inside of them for granted. But Beth Moore gave me new perspective on this: This thing that comes so naturally to some came supernaturally to Greg and me. I was chosen to become a mom this way and in the process witnessed God’s glory in a unique way.

Like Elizabeth said in Luke 1:25, “The Lord has done this for me.” I wonder how I will see God’s glory the next time.

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An InLinkz Link-up
   
I’m linking up this post with Works for Me Wednesday because looking back on what God has done in my life definitely works for me! Kayse Pratt is hosting WFMW for Mary Carver. They’re two of my favorite bloggers on the whole internet, so go meet them, if you haven’t already. And then later I linked up with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood, one of my other favorite places on the internet. 

Want more insights? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”

{God-sized Dreams} The journey of a dream

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I prayed for God to use my family’s adoption story.

It was a wide-open prayer I offered up over time – sometimes hesitantly, other times confidently. Meanwhile, I wrote an ebook called “Peace in the Process” tells about the hard season of infertility and then how God led my husband and me to adoption. The crux of the story is God built my family of four in a way I never expected – and simultaneously built my faith.

I sold some copies of “Peace in the Process” and started getting feedback from people I didn’t know. And then I started praying for people I didn’t know as they shared their infertility and adoption stories.

I continued to pray God would use these words for his good – even though I had no idea what that would look like. Meanwhile, I started getting involved with a local adoption ministry. The co-founder and I connected easily and planned some events. Through the events, I met other women who were waiting and hoping and struggling and wondering like I did – and sometimes still do.

{To read more about how God built my dreams, join me at the God-sized Dreams website today.}

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With this post, I’m joining Jen Ferguson for the Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood Gathering. 

Want more insights? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”