About a year after Harper’s arrival, Eric and I were praying about adopting for the second time. God had laid it on our heart that He had another child to add to our family. We didn’t have a lot of clear direction on where we were to look for this child. We had begun doing some research into adopting from Ethiopia and Haiti, and felt that God would hallmark a child in need for us to adopt, just like he did with Harper. After a couple of months, though, we still didn’t have a clear direction, so we continued to wait and pray.
Around that time we met a young woman who was visiting our church who was unexpectedly pregnant. We felt an instant connection with her and had the opportunity to talk with her about her situation and encourage her with truth.
Several months went by, we didn’t see this young woman for a while and we didn’t think much about the conversation we’d had with her. We continued to look into adopting from Haiti, Ethiopia, and other countries. But then she showed up again at church, and had another conversation with her that seemed clearly directed by God. She told us she had decided to place her child for adoption and showed us ultrasound photos of the baby. We had lunch with her a few days later, and it became clear to all three of us that God was calling Eric and I to be the ones to raise this precious child.
It was such a beautiful moment when we realized that this was yet another story that God was scripting in our lives. Though it was not a special-needs international adoption as we had expected, God spoke to our hearts that “obedience is better than sacrifice.” It didn’t matter the country or circumstance, what mattered was that this was the child that God had chosen for our family to pursue through the miracle of adoption.
Over the next few months, we spent lots of time with this precious young woman, getting to know her and love her as part of our family. We all began to anticipate the arrival of this new little one together. On November 1, 2008, Kipling Joel Anthony arrived. Eric and I had the privilege of being in the hospital when he was born and spending time with him just moments after he arrived onto the scene. Three days later, we brought Kip home. I will never forget leaving the hospital that night, seeing the sacrificial love of a mother saying goodbye to her child because she wanted the very best for him.
We had an entrustment ceremony for Kip a couple weeks after he arrived home – close friends and family surrounded us and Kip’s birth mom, and we all read letters of prayer and blessing over his life. His birth mom wrote a beautiful letter of “entrusting” this child into our arms, and believe me there was not a dry eye in the room.
Now Kip is an energetic and sweet little boy who adds so much humor and life to the Ludy home! Because we have an open adoption, Kip’s birth mom is still a special part of his life, and he has the opportunity to build a relationship with her as he grows up. Recently, Kip had the honor of walking his birth mom down the aisle at her wedding. (Again, not many dry eyes in the room!)
It is such an honor and privilege to be called upon by God to raise this amazing little guy! “Blessed be the Lord…who only does wondrous things.” (Ps. 72:18)