Each year, a different part of the Christmas story stands out to me. A part in the very beginning tugs on my heart this year, and reminds me of the legacy you’re already preparing for your adopted child.
 
When I decided to pursue adoption, I remember having to come to terms with the fact that there’d be some things I wouldn’t be handing down to my child: my husband’s dimples, for example, or my mother’s eyes. Before I could fully embrace our dream of adoption, I had to process that I wouldn’t be able to compare family photos and figure out who our baby most resembled.
 
But even though my son has a different genetic history, there are definitely things he’s inherited from me. There will be some things I pass down to my son that won’t show up in a photo, as neither would they in a picture of Jesus and His Mother Mary.
 
Mary asked some questions when the Angel Gabriel told her that she’d conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, even as a virgin. Then, she accepted the plan by saying, “…May everything you have said about me come true.” (Luke 1:38)
 
Having such a tender heart of faith and surrender isn’t biologically passed down to your child. Instead, it’s shown, taught, and lived.
 
Mary’s statement of trust in God’s plan reminds us that Jesus was faced with His moment of surrender. In Luke 22:42, He prepared for His journey to the cross in prayer: “…Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
 
Since Jesus is the Son of God, He began with a greater acceptance and understanding of what it means to have trust in the Lord’s plan. I believe that Jesus likely watched His Mother’s surrendered, trusting faith and that He’d need to achieve God’s plan of redemption for us all.
 
This will be true for you and your child, too. You’ve already created a heritage of faith for your child’s future by answering the call to adopt. You’re trusting and accepting God’s plan for your family’s future. The faith you’re already showing in this part of your story will become a legacy for your child when they most need it. You’ll pass on many special, important, and memorable things to the child you adopt.
 

Keeping Your Spirits Bright During the Wait

If you are still “parents-in-waiting,” family time with siblings and their children may magnify the lack of little ones in your own family. I remember experiencing depression each holiday season before we adopted. The awkward questions and the blunt but well-meaning comments that pierced my heart were hard to bear.
 
Despite my longing, I always smiled, enjoying the company of my family, and holding all the children because deep in my heart, I kept the faith that someday, I would be blessed with a child for Christmas too.
 
As many of our Lifetime families are moving into Christmas anxiously awaiting “the call,” I want to share with you hope. Hope and assurance that by having faith this season, you too will soon be looking into the eyes of “your” child, the child I believe God has just for your family. Never giving up hope is what helped me. I believe that we all struggle through periods of “longing,” and the holidays can be one of the hardest.
 
When families keep their faith strong and continue to involve themselves in their adoption search, wonderful things happen. Approach the season with that Hope and Faith. There is a special meaning in Christmas that is meant just for “parents-in-waiting”. God loves you and wants to give you the desire of your heart. He knows your one and only wish this Christmas is a child of your own.
 
Thousands of families before you have prayed that same prayer, “All I want for Christmas is a Baby,” and with great happiness, they received their wish. Many received their gift in June, August, or even later, but they didn’t ever think of giving up.
 
Their faith kept them looking forward and upward until they had their child in their arms. It will happen. Encourage your family to continue to pray and help spread the word. I believe that God hears our prayer, and as the Bible says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)
 
I see the rewards of my faith each day as I look at pictures of all the parents and their children we have helped. So often, we are hard on ourselves, and it is easy to focus on the “have nots” instead of the “haves.”
 
Remember to count your blessings as we at Lifetime rejoice that you have allowed us to be a part of building your family through adoption. Our one and only goal is to help our birth mothers find you and help you with your one wish this year—a child. Be uplifted and know our prayers are with you and your child wherever they are and that you will be together in His time.
 
For me, I think one of the greatest things we can do this year is pursuing His peace. If you aren’t feeling Christmas in your heart, take some time to pause, put on Christmas music (even if you don’t feel like it!), light a fire (or put one on TV from YouTube), and just be open.
 
Keep on working, cleaning the house, cooking, or whatever you are doing, but open the door to feeling Christmas in your heart and spirit. God wants to offer us peace and rest, and sometimes, especially in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, the last thing we can find is peace or rest. But, it is there, waiting for us, and sometimes we simply need to create the environment for Him to work.
 
God’s timing can be really frustrating from down here. But like a tapestry, we only see the bottom of what God is working on top. You have to believe that if you don’t give up and follow a proven plan as you stay in prayer you will find that child the Lord has for you. I know it’s hard. But every day, stay focused and think outside the box. Do something every day to move you forward, and listen to those that have the knowledge and have been where you are now. Don’t ever give up. Remember there is a child for you!
 
I pray you have a beautiful Christmas, celebrating the true meaning of the season, surrounded by those precious to you. I pray that you find peace in a surrendered heart to God’s plan this Christmas and joy in the amazing miracles He’s already creating for your family.
 
Christmas blessings to all of you!
 
“Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.”
-Jude 1:2
 

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on December 8, 2018, and has since been updated.