Posted on September 3, 2010 - by Megan
The Scariest Part of Adoption: Faith
Faith is not my thing. Truth be told, I am extremely self-reliant. Most of the time, this works for me. I can “make it happen” with the best of them. But today, I find myself smack in the middle of a gap I cannot bridge. If you’re like Joel and me, facing the daunting cost of adoption is one of the most difficult pieces of the process. Ours will cost somewhere around $25,000, including our travel (the most expensive part). Like most families who take the leap of faith and choose to adopt, we cannot finance our adoption on our own.
This reality hit home yesterday when we received an invoice for $2800 from our agency for their fees. We didn’t expect it to be due for several months, so it was a bit of a surprise to find in the mail. As all of our funds have been allocated to completing our home study and immigration paperwork, we cannot pay the agency invoice right now.
Joel and I have heard countless stories from families about the amazing ways God provided the resources for their adoptions. It seems that each family has an incredible testimony about the faithfulness of God to honor their intention to adopt. I guess this really shouldn’t be any surprise, since God’s heart is perhaps nowhere more evident than adoption. And yet, I find my self-lacking in faith.
Joel and I worked for over a year to pay off all of our debt, and are committed to never borrowing money again. Our freedom from debt has been one of the things that enabled us to consider adoption in the first place. Consequently, we won’t take advantage of the many no-interest loan options that exist for adopting families.
Part of our dream is to inspire others in our church and our community to adopt, so we feel compelled to complete our adoption without debt. In light of that, we must trust God to provide the funds necessary to complete our adoption. It’s scary to feel so out of control of the outcome, but I know that God is calling on us to rely on HIM.
We have brainstormed numerous fund-raising ideas, including selling t-shirts from 147 million orphans, running (okay, walking) a half-marathon in November to benefit our adoption, applying for adoption grants and church matching grants, and hosting raffles on our blogs. Even with a promising list like that, I can’t see the way from here to $25,000, but I choose to walk by faith, not by sight.
I firmly believe that adoption is not only redemptive for the adopted child, but also for the adoptive family and adoptive community. I know God will use this one event to transform the lives and faith of so many. While my faith is small, I trust that God is big. I can’t wait to see Him show up to build our family, grow His Kingdom, and bring glory to Himself. Some day, when we are home with our child, I pray that we will look back and be in awe of the faithfulness of God. May He use our story to inspire others to take the leap of faith just like we are doing now.
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03. Sep, 2010
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gail Hyatt, Megan Hyatt Miller. Megan Hyatt Miller said: Today I came face 2 face w the scariest part of adoption-faith. But, God is bigger than my fears! New post: http://bit.ly/bFHqQu [...]
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My name is Megan Hyatt Miller. I'm a little Emmilou Harris, a little Bonnie Rait, and a dash of Paula Dean—mostly because I identify with her unbridled use of butter and ample hips. I am passionate about living and telling a good story. I'm a wife, a stepmom and and an adoptive mom. I am passionate about adoption, racial reconciliation, and creating beauty and a sense belonging for those I love. To learn more, click here. Thanks for stopping by.
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September 3, 2010
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Chelsea said:
I love to remind myself that I am limited by my human mind. Even with all the possibilities I can up with on my own, they do not even scrape the surface of what is possible with God. Things I can not BEGIN to fathom.
And when I forget that, and get down because MY solutions haven’t worked, I love to remind myself that my best hope has just as much chance of occurring as my worst fear, so I have no need dwell on the negative!
I admire you both for pursuing adoption!
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September 3, 2010
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Megan said:
Chelsea, great points. I love what you said about realizing that the possibilities we can think of barely scratch the surface of God’s capabilities. Thanks for the reminder and the encouragement.
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September 3, 2010
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Kelli Jones said:
I really appreciate your post! We just started the adoption process as well and I, like you, really like to “make it happen.” We too were shocked this week to find out that we need to send our agency $2,250. We thought we would have a little more time.
We don’t have a big savings account for this adoption but are stepping out in obedience knowing He will provide (like He always has in every circumstance). But even knowing that He is always faithful, I still wonder “yes, but when Lord, and how, and what do you want me to do, and could you hurry?” 
Thank you for your encouragement today! I needed to hear these words!
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September 3, 2010
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Megan said:
Kelli, don’t you think it’s incredible to enter the adoption community. I have been so encouraged to hear the stories of others–they usually come just when I need them most. It will be amazing to watch our stories unfold. Blessings to you as you make your way to your little one.
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September 3, 2010
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Mike said:
Hey Megan, great post! My wife and I are just starting the international adoption process as well, looking to adopt from Ethiopia. Looks like it will cost about $20k+. Thanks for being so open & honest about your thoughts on finances.
Have you and your husband heard of/read the book “Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches” by Rusell Moore? It is phenomenal. I highly recommend you read it if you get the chance – or, actually, listen to the audiobook, as Rusell reads it and has a great Mississippi accent!
I know it’s not a Thomas Nelson book, 
, but I think your parents would really enjoy reading it too. Challies’ review of it is here:
http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/adopted-for-life
Blessings on your adoption journey! I look forward to reading more about your journey through your blog!
Mike
p.s. you are welcome to email me if you want to hear more about my wife & my adoption process – my email should be attached to this post for you to see.
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September 3, 2010
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Mary said:
We learned early in our marriage that if we can’t afford something, we don’t need it. I applaud your trust in Him to provide for this because there is no doubt at all that if it is His will, He will. I am both adopted and have an adopted child. In fact, I am adopted twice, once by my adoptive parents and once by God. Adopted children have a chance to understand Romans 8 in a special way.
Just to make sure you or someone else reading your blog knows, you can adopt a foster child right in your neighborhood for free through a foster-adopt program.
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September 3, 2010
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Gary said:
Megan, the “some day” when you’ll be home with your child will be sooner and sweeter than you can imagine! The journey is the story. Our family is cheering you on!!
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September 3, 2010
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Megan said:
Wow. Thanks Gary. Your words are a blessing.
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September 3, 2010
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Judy D said:
Megan, surely God will provide. And that of course is for the adoption, and even more to grow your faith for the journey ahead. Parenting is always a journey of many surprises and challenges, and parenting those chosen gifts is most often even more so. I am convinced that God is especially pleased when we follow His model–and adopt.
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September 3, 2010
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Tamara White said:
Hang on to your hat! Adoption leads to all kinds of redemption and adventure. After living and working in innercities for 20 years I adopted as a single mother two amazing kids – one is now 17 and the other 5! It’s been quite a ride and now I am working with orphans and those in crisis internationally. From my experience money is the lease of your worries – pray for abundance of humor, joy in the mundane, empathy for your child’s grief and loss and the unbelievble transformation of heart that children bring to us. A hearty early congratulations to you and your family.
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September 4, 2010
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Jim & Martha Weeks said:
I certainly applaud the adoption. We were married 17 years before we adopted. We were foster parents for those years before and after adoption. Our first was a private adoption with an amazing story of the Lord working in the whole process. Then we adopted 4 more children over the next 15 years or so. We are an older couple just over retirement age. Our oldest daughter (1st adoption) is a senior at Univ. of Texas Austin and has been in the past two Miss Texas Pageants. Our son (now 21) is mentally handicapped to some degree. He has frontal lobe brain damage. Our next girl, now 18, had bipolar, oppositional defiant , etc. She is now in a mental hospital. Our next girl now 17, is legally blind, but funtionally OK. Our son, now 8, is totally handicapped, can’t walk, talk, see and is on feeding tube. Its a real joy in spite of the handicaps to work with these kids. God is in control. I can speak from experience about the costs, even though they were all here in the US, still costs were steep. Today, we struggle to handle all the finances with 2 in college and one in high school, but God knows our hearts. God Bless you for wanting to adopt. There is a special place for adoptive parents.
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September 4, 2010
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Stephanie said:
Thanks for sharing your journey, Meg. I am inspired by your faith and I am convinced that no great thing was ever accomplished without it.
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September 6, 2010
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KKSorrell said:
Megan, I love the fact that you are stepping out in faith. I always have trouble with that! You are a role model for me!
Your adoption posts have also got me thinking about my dream of adopting from Thailand again. We looked into it a few years back and decided the time wasn’t right and there didn’t seem to be a lot of opportunities there but now I want to look into it again! There is a child out there for you and Joel!
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September 7, 2010
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kristi johnson said:
I just stumbled across your site accidentally…I was googling Lucy Lane’s name and your blog popped up..so you are local?? Oh, how wonderful our adoption was from Ethiopia…I can’t wait to jump on board again some day…Simply Amazing..I’ll have to read more to find our “where” you are in the process and from what country…but just wanted to say HI..and let you know that ALL THE SCARY FAITH times are so worth it when you hold your baby/child!!
kristi johnson
home with Lucy lane june 09
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September 7, 2010
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kristi johnson said:
ps…just read your profile and you’d love my sister Kelly’s website: http://www.ordinaryhero.org She’s also adopted from Ethiopia and has a great non profit going for all those things you listed in your profile..She’s on the news all the time for it incase she looks familiar..just an fyi, kristi j
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September 7, 2010
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Aaron Klein said:
Megan,
In no way do I want to encourage you to go into debt, but you may want to consider the zero-interest loans with some very careful planning.
In reality — those loans are simply a gift of “time” from a donor. They are advancing you the $13K refundable tax credit that you will eventually receive from the IRS for the tax year that you finalize your adoption.
You still need to be very dedicated to fundraising and get “ahead of the money curve” before you get that referral and don’t have the funding lined up.
But I’m convinced that zero-interest adoption loans tied to the refundable federal tax credit are a beautiful gift to families who pay taxes but aren’t wealthy enough to write a check for their adoption (that certainly was the case for us…although we didn’t end up using the loan option ourselves).
As an aside, I’ve just received Joel’s new book and am excited to watch a family that I was already a fan of go through this process!
Best,
Aaron