We have learned so much over the past four and a half years. Some of the lessons were not ones we desired to learn, but we are so thankful that God has polished our rough edges and has been gracious to us, despite our lack of faith at times and our stubbornness to follow our own plan rather than His. Last Easter, as I sat by the grave of our oldest sons, I said a simple prayer, “God if it doesn’t get better than this, then I am done.” I was so tired. I rejoiced that my two little lambs were celebrating with their Savior, but I didn’t get what God was waiting for. Less than a week later I got my answer. And it seemed as though God was saying, “See, for the last nine months I have been protecting this precious one and orchestrating the plans I have for your family.”
This week as I have been reflecting on all God has done, a couple verses have been brought to my attention. The first is Jeremiah 29:11-12, which was read at our wedding - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. This verse has brought us comfort and has proven itself to be true time and time again. The second is Esther 4:14 -
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? I am not sure how God will use our sorrow, pain, and joy. But I do know that God brought us through all our pain for such a time as this. He planned for Liam to be our son all along and it is a perfect fit.
I have included the letter we wrote to Liam and put in his scrapbook along with the letter that we wrote to Liam's birthmother.
Dear Sweet Liam,
Today you have legally become our son. It is the best day of our lives! We thank God every day for letting us be your parents. You exceed all our expectations and have all the qualities that we wanted in a son. You are our Samuel, our miracle, and our joy. We hope you always know how much we love you and how we have loved being your parents. You fill our lives with silly, loving, and dear moments. We are very proud of you. We pray that God will give us the wisdom, discernment, and courage to be the kind of parents you deserve, and that you never doubt our love for you.
Your life will be blessed, but at times it will be hard. Liam, you have a God that loves you even more than we do. He loves you so much that he died so you can spend eternity in heaven. Your older brothers, Christopher and Connor, are already there. Our greatest goal as your parents is to help you realize God’s love for you, and encourage your faith, so we can all join your brothers someday. God has already begun a great story with your life. We know He will do great things through you and we can’t wait to see what those things are.
Today, we want you to know that your birthmother loved you so much to give you life and give you to us. We will always be thankful for her and will continue to pray for her. She is an important part of your journey.
Liam, today we have to so much to be thankful for! Thank you for being our son and for filling our hearts the way only you can.
We love you,
Mom & Dad
Dear (Birthmother),
We understand and appreciate that you do not desire contact and we realize that you may never read this letter. However, we feel compelled to write this as much for our benefit as yours. We want to express to you our deepest gratitude. We are so thankful for you. You have given us the best gift anyone could have ever given us. Thank you for giving this amazing, brilliant, and beautiful boy life. Thank you for choosing us and giving us the opportunity to be parents. You have made our greatest dream a reality. Having a son has completely changed our lives for the better. We continually keep you in our prayers. We pray that God will bless you and that you will have peace that you made the right decision. As our son grows we will tell him how much you loved him and that you wanted the best for him. We promise you that we will provide him with the best life possible. We will shower him with love and encourage his faith.
Our most heartfelt thanks,
David & Tiffany
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