No, I did not make a mistake today by writing "July 29" on my title. As life would have it, I had the goal of putting this post up yesterday, but unfortunately the day slipped away from me before I could get it posted. Some days are just like that. This date, July 29, 2011, will always hold a special place in our hearts. When asked "What are some of the most important dates in your life?" I would imagine that this question brings up a number of different memories- Graduating from high school or college, a birthday, your first date, a wedding anniversary, becoming a Christ-follower- I'm sure these would top some of our lists.
When Nate and I look back at a number of important dates in our lives, a very important dinner conversation occurred on July 29- one that would change our lives forever.
It was an ordinary day actually, there was nothing very eventful about it. We had gone out of town, walked around for the day and did a little browsing, and then went to eat at 'Not your Average Joe's', a place some friends of ours had introduced us to a while ago. Quite honestly, I'm not going to lie, we might do just go there just for the bread and dipping oil. The food is very good, but this restaurant has THE best bread and dipping oil combination and it's just too good to pass up. (and trust me when I say I've had some good bread and dipping oil at a number of great places, but love the combination they put together at this restaurant)
So, we were finishing our dinner when out of the blue Nate just says at random, "I know what we are supposed to do". (this is where I give him a very strange look that clearly says "what in the world are you talking about?") Now understand that this comment didn't make sense at all to me, as there was no context to what we had previously been talking about that I could even guess where he might be going with this. So I did what any very respectful wife would do and kindly asked, "So what do you think we are supposed to do?" (hoping that somehow I'm going to clue in to what he's thinking right now) It was at this moment that he led into his thoughts and asked me what I felt God was leading us to do regarding adoption, which we had been discussing off and on for months, but not as intensely as we had since the end of June and the month of July. We had been praying and seeking what God would have us do in this respect as we had really felt God leading us in this direction. He began to share with me that He felt God had been showing him through various circumstances over the month of July that we needed to take this next step of faith and begin the process. I have to admit, I may have almost choked on whatever I was eating at the moment, but I wasn't surprised at all that this would be where God would lead, as I had really felt this leading in my heart as well; however, I truly wanted God to show Him first and allow him to lead us both in this decision, since it was such a life altering one. (and truthfully, I didn't want the fact that I work in adoption or am very comfortable with the dynamics of it, to be a persuasive factor either in our decision)
So, I don't think I need to go into the rest of the details of that night, other than to say July 29, 2011 will always be a special date for us, as God had confirmed in both of our hearts the decision to following His leading to adopt. There were several other topics of course that came up that night- "Where do we adopt from?" " What is our next step?" "When do we start?" (of course he just laughed and said "you're the professional in this area, just tell me what I need to do") (I think since the decision was made he would have started filling out applications that night if I would have let him)
As we reflect back to a year ago, we are both reminded that one day a little girl will come home, a little girl born in our hearts on July 29. As we celebrate this day, we want to provide her with a piece of her story. There are special days where we will continue to write to her so that as she is older, she will have letters, cards, and journal entries that will help her to understand that even though we didn't know who she was, where she would come from, what she would look like, or when she would come to be a part of our family- we considered her to be a special part of our lives, our first child loved months in advance even before we knew a face or a name.
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