There is no question in my mind that we are living a full fledged, only God, bigger than life miracle.
Our youngest daughter, Olivia, was only three months old when God began to really break our hearts for the fatherless. Olivia turned three in August, and the very next month, we brought home BOTH of our girls, against all odds.
Everyone told us we couldn’t do it.
Everyone, that is, except Lifeline.
And in the natural, stepping out in faith to adopt at this point in our lives, with nine biological children, was the craziest thing we had ever done. It even bordered on stupidity by today’s standards.
But here we are at home with our girls, and the girls are thriving.
It hasn’t been without difficulty. We were thrown a couple of curve balls with Evangeline’s bone infection and Eliza’s microcephalus and significant developmental delays, and there were moments when I questioned how we could manage all of this. There were times, in my weakness, I thought to myself, “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
There are moments even now when the needs weigh so heavily that all I can do is cry out to God to pick up where I fail, and ask Him to meet the needs for me.
I’ve written before about how our feelings just don’t matter when we are following God’s call. We will never know pure joy and fulfillment when we try to create it for ourselves. It is only in giving our lives away to Jesus that we can ever know true joy.
The only thing that matters is the reckless abandon of our own feelings and desires and a focused deliberate obedience to God’s call in our lives.
As Mark and I have chosen over and over again to walk the high road, to continue on this path God has chosen for us, we have been blown away by God’s wisdom and grace, and by His incredible goodness to us.
I couldn’t ask for the girls to be doing any better than they are.
Really.
I am just amazed at the ease of their transitions.
Evangeline has bonded so quickly and intensely to us that I am in awe. She climbs on my lap and allows me to rock her. She nestles into my chest and drifts off to sleep as if I had parented her since infancy. She is an incredibly attached child. If I correct her, she responds just like an attached child would.
She has developed a close relationship with her sisters. In every way, she is one of the girls.
There is no question in my mind that God intended for Evangeline to be here in our family, and He moved every mountain to get her here.
Eliza’s adjustment has not been quite as easy, but looking back, I can see God’s hand at work in placing her in our family. And it certainly has not been a difficult attachment considering she is fourteen and spent her entire life in an orphanage.
She could not be more attached to her daddy if he had adopted her as a baby. She just loves him. And as time has progressed, Eliza is really attaching to me too.
I called home today from CHOP, and Eliza answered the phone. It was such a precious moment. There were so few words we could use, but she named each child that was home and said, “Okay.”
She was telling me they were all okay.
Then, before she handed the phone off to Victoria, she said, “Mama, I love you.”
Yes, she did.
The past few days I have been acutely aware of how happy Eliza is here in her home. She loves her brothers and sisters. She loves the dogs and the cat. She loves her room. She loves being a big sister, and a little sister.
She loves her life here.
Her face just radiates pure joy so much of the time. I could share precious story after story of how she is bonding with all of us, but sleep is calling rather loudly at the moment, and we have to go back to CHOP in the morning.
I think back over the years as we have trusted God to decide our family size. I remember the faith it took to trust Him through the leaner years, and now I am just amazed at how this family, our family, seems to be a most fertile soil for our girls to blossom in.
Evangeline and Eliza were meant to be here.
We were meant to love them.
They really have come home.
Blessings!
OK, Blow my nose and wipe my eyes. Yes God Planned your large, God Filled, Loving Family, for two very sweet, loving, “needing” girls. Two Orphan girls from the other side of the world. Two girls that the world did not care about. Two girls that did not have anything except the companionship of other children just like themselves. Yes, God Planned this. He worked the miracles to make it possible. And then brought them Home to love and to Be Loved.
God Bless You Diane and All the McCaslin Family
Sooooooo happy for you! Those 4 little words have so much more meaning than they usually do!
warm regards,
Claudia Huisman, The Netherlands, mom to Nina and Yuri from China
I teared up reading your post today and am so grateful that you have been willing to share the struggles as well as God’s amazing provision. Your posts are especially encouraging to me as we wait to bring our daughter home. Continuing to pray for you and your beautiful family.
Love this post, So full of hope and encouragement! Thankyou for taking the time to write it down for ‘us’ to enjoy. God bless your family richly today!
Roberta recently posted..Maybe this WASN’T Such a Great Idea
So I’m not the only one reaching for the tissues. Diane, you are a blessed woman – thank you for sharing with us. I don’t often leave a comment or message, but David and I have been following your journey, and we’ll continue to keep you in our prayers.
I am so happy for all of you and especially for the girls that they have the two of you for parents…..God Bless…