“As a mom of 3 boys, I had always felt a desire to have a little girl. There was a place inside my heart that felt as if the love for a daughter belonged there. In 2014, my husband and I started the process of adoption. We had partnered with a private agency, but we felt the doors were just too hard to walk through or would not open at all. Once, on a long road trip, my husband brought up fostering or adopting through the foster system. I was so unsure of that idea.
In January of 2015, I started a prayer list of many things. One of those things was simply adoption. We just wanted guidance and direction. We knew it was something we were being called to do, only we didn’t know how. I had said many things in prayer like, ‘Lord, you need to just put someone at my front door.’ Never mind that we literally saw signs everywhere we went pointing us to foster care.
I was running one cold morning in January in my hometown and decided to make my run a little longer by running down an additional side road. I suddenly found myself standing in front of a large sign that said ‘Lighthouse’ and mentioned foster care. I took a picture of it and sent it to my husband. It was for a foster agency. My husband said to call them; I walked in. After answering a few basic questions we all probably have about foster care, we were invited to an informational meeting the following Tuesday. Only problem was our kids played basketball on Tuesday and my husband was a coach. We had a decision to make.
Tuesday morning came and we still had not made a decision as to if we would go to the meeting or stay on our planned schedule. We hadn’t told a single soul of our dilemma. That morning, I woke up at 5:30 to a light coming from one of our 3 boys’ rooms. It was odd that it was on, so I got up and shut it off. I opened my phone and mentioned on social media I was up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. I eventually put all 3 of my boys on the school bus and walked upstairs to my office and looked at my phone again. There was a message from a friend…
‘So, I just saw 2 posts on your Facebook page, and it confirmed God wants me to tell you something. I’ve been up since 5:30, my eyes popped open, and I’ve been struggling ever since, and then I see another post from you. What if I told you that leaving your job and coming home to your boys was only part of your purpose? What if I told you God has said loud and clear you need a baby girl?? This feeling is so strong I can’t deny it, and I can’t speak to you because I will sob. You are meant to have a daughter. You are the best mother to your boys and such a nurturer that I know God needs you to take care of His fragile and weak. I know this because my dream was so strong last night, I know I was there. I was there in your kitchen as you sobbed with doubts and fears and the unknown and your doorbell rang. It’s so weird Aimee, but it was God (don’t ask me how I know it was God, but it was), and He hand-delivered me your baby girl. I can hear you cry out to Him with every post. You were meant to have a baby girl. Look into it. God will lead the way. I love you to the moon and back! You are a constant encourager to me and such an inspiration to so many. If this is crazy to you, then ignore it…. I just needed to tell you. ;) ’
I hit my knees. There was no question as to what we would be attending that evening. We were going to move forward and become a foster family. I always joke that if God had told me I’d have another son, I would have laughed and moved on. However, that desire in me to have a daughter was directly matched with God’s message from my friend, right down to being on my doorstep.
From January to July we took classes and tests and prepared our home to become foster parents. All with a deep feeling our daughter was out there waiting on us to hurry up and finish. We prayed constantly that God protect her from whatever was going to happen that would land her in our arms. We knew she was coming, and we knew she would have to go through something to get to us. We prayed for protection for her. We were approved as a foster home in July, and the wait began.
By November, we still had not received a call and were very discouraged. Before giving up, we decided that we would just be still. All the chaos that seemed to be rising in our emotions from the long wait didn’t make sense. To be still meant to trust. Within a few days of praying about our next steps and deciding to just hang tight a little longer, we got a call. 3 actually. The first call we could not take; it was for a large sibling set, and we were not approved for that many children. The second we said ‘yes’ to, but they had been placed before we could call back. The third call we missed, but we called back with anticipation and we said ‘yes.’ Later that evening, a little boy around 17 months old was being handed to us and the next day his brand-new baby sister arrived.
We were in shock and survival mode for a very long time. We now had 5 children under our roof. For over a year we shuttled them weekly to visitation appointments. It was the most challenging part of our lives. We watched and prayed for their birth parents. Regardless, after a significant amount of time, we were asked if we wanted to adopt them. Our answer was a resounding ‘yes.’ They were ours in our hearts long before their adoption day.
The process is hard. The brokenness is hard. The reality of adoption is hard. However, in the end, they are our children forever. Their story is just beginning for them and they will use their circumstances one day to help many others.
‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,’ Matt 18:5”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Aimee Larsen. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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