An Incredible Journey to an Incredible Little Boy

For the past year and a half, I have had a sideline seat to one of the craziest, most beautiful stories that has accented my life...the adoption of this sweet boy into one of my most favoritest families on this planet:

Timothy Natnael

When I was given the incredible privilege of moving in with this family in September of 2009, I had no idea what God had in store for my heart. My dad had gone to heaven only a month and a half earlier, so the overwhelming grief of not having him with me on earth was still somewhat consuming. I was also beginning the new unknown of nursing school. I was overwhelmed, to say the least! So many emotions--one of the strongest being excitement! I was giddy to have been given the gift of a place to call home...with some of my favorite people in the world, no less!

That fall, God began to perform surgery on my heart. Through my dad's illness and death, my eyes had been opened to the incredible hurt and suffering of so many on this planet. As I grieved the loss of my dad, I could no longer remain ignorant to the plight of the oppressed in this broken world. In October, God opened up a new page to this journey of mine as the Kirks officially began their adoption process. It is hard to believe that there has hardly been a moment in my time living with this family that they HAVEN'T been in the adoption process!

I'm not sure that words could express how these past 17 months have impacted my life. Wow!
God has blessed me with a sideline seat to this family's journey to their newest treasure. I don't know what He has in store for me, but I know that I have been forever changed by this one little boy!

Checking out brother's tiny toes

There have been mountaintop highs to this journey (like THIS one), and challenging, arduous lows. I have seen, in new ways, God's heart for the orphan. I have also seen, in new ways, Satan's incredible disgust for and opposition to adoption. Through it all, I have also witnessed, firsthand, God's faithfulness through every twist and turn that has brought this little boy together with this family.

all 7 brothers and sisters...together at last!

This past Friday, the journey of bringing Timothy home officially ended...and what a joyous occasion it was! (You can watch a video of their homecoming HERE). We cried, screamed with joy, jumped up and down, hugged, laughed...and most of all, celebrated. We celebrated the homecoming of a little boy to his forever family. We celebrated the completion of what has been an incredibly long journey, full of unexpected twists and turns, to Timothy. We celebrated the beginning of new relationships between Timothy and his brothers and sisters. We celebrated, praising God for remaining steadfast through it all. {and crashed into our beds that night!} In some ways, the journey has only begun with the family being united--COMPLETE--for the very first time.


Friends, adoption is beautiful. It is beautiful because it is God's heart. It is beautiful because we have been adopted into God's family...and, in some ways, the adoption of an orphan is one of the closest metaphors we have to our own adoption as sons and daughters of God. I pray that you, too, will be blessed with a window into adoption...whether it be through your own journey to a beautiful treasure or through the journey of someone you love.



"God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

I did not know when I moved here that I would get to be a part of this adoption journey...but God knew! The scope of His work is unfathomable, beautiful from beginning to end! I feel blessed beyond measure to have witnessed such an incredible start to what I am sure will be a beautiful, beautiful story.

Welcome home, Timothy!