God’s intricate provision of a family for Nathan
Testimonies from a birth mother and an adoptive father
Ron: Last summer we entered the adoption process with Hope’s Promise again after adopting our daughter in 2007. In the fall, we attended a fundraiser banquet for the Alpha Center, a Christian crisis pregnancy center in Fort Collins. Right there at our table, I prayed that our next child would be a boy who would come to us through the Alpha Center. I leaned over and told Barb. She smiled, and we both thought how wonderful it would be if it were true.
Julie: I found out I was pregnant in October and began working with Hope’s Promise when I realized that adoption could give my baby the best possible life. In January, Barb, Ron’s wife, began working with my mother at a school in town. When she heard our story, Barb offered to meet with me to tell me about their experience in open adoption and to answer any questions I had.
Ron: We met Julie, then 3 months pregnant, for dinner to share with her our experience with open adoption and simply to be a resource for her. She mentioned that night that she found Hope’s Promise through the Alpha Center, and we wondered whether this might be the answer to our prayers. Since it was so early in her pregnancy, though, we assumed nothing and continued to pray for her and her family.
Julie: Leaving that meeting, I felt a great amount of peace about the decision I was making. As I got know Ron and Barb better, it became more and more clear to me that this was the family God had ultimately chosen for my baby.
Ron: We learned a few months later that her baby was a boy. In April, Hope’s Promise called to tell us that Julie wanted to talk to us about parenting her baby. I got the call at work and immediately called Barb at school. She ran down the hall and hugged Julie’s mom. Our caseworker told us that Julie had decided after meeting us that she wanted us to be the baby’s parents, and wisely waited for the appropriate time to tell us. Nathan was born in June, and we had the privilege of being at the hospital and meeting him about an hour after he was born. We enjoy a wonderful relationship with Julie and her family.
Julie: I am so grateful for the wonderful family that Nathan has, and I am excited to be involved with him as he grows up.
Ron: All of us continue to be amazed how God cared enough about all of us, and especially Julie and Nathan, to arrange the circumstances of our lives to come together the way he did. It showed all of us that God is much bigger than any of the individual people involved in Nathan’s adoption, and we are honored to be part of it.
