All of my life I have wanted to be a mother (probably because mine was so great!). For thirty years I have prayed and hoped for that to become part of my life one day. With every year that passed another handful of friends would get married and start having babies…It has been one of my heart’s biggest struggles to watch and wait while it seems like everyone around me is living the life I want so badly.
Over the last 2 years I have begun to realize that motherhood may still be a possibility, even if other pieces of the puzzle are not in place yet. Seeing some good friends adopt two beautiful girls from Haiti earlier last year made me think that there might be a baby out there for me. After my trip to Haiti this summer there is little doubt in my mind that if there is a baby for me in the world, it will be there. I fell in love with the children we encountered. It made me so happy to hear that being a single woman would not put me at any disadvantage.
Here is what I need help with: The adoption process is expensive. I need some creative ideas of ways to raise money. My employer has an amazing employee benefit that will help with some of the costs, but I still have to pay for things on the front end. My goal is to be able to raise the initial amount needed to get the home study portion of the application completed by the beginning of next year (approximately $3000). So put on your creative hats and send me ideas!!
Oh, Carly! What a huge step and a life-changing decision! I'll keep you and your journey in my prayers. I have a friend here in Alabama who is in the "final" stage of an international adoption. They have had a number of community yard sales and even bake sales where they took orders and sold cakes and pans of brownies for $25 each. Obviously we all paid the premium price because we knew what the money was going for. Also I saw some beautiful t-shirts for sale online through another blog with scripture "red and yellow, black and white they are precious in his sight" that a family was selling to help raise funds. Good luck and God Bless!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for you, Carly! I've thought about that before. What an amazing opportunity to give a new life to a child without a future or hope on this earth! I will begin praying that God will bless you abundantly more than you can ask or imagine as you make plans to care for "the least of these" in His name. I'd love to talk to you more in person next time I'm in Nashville. Have you seen Third Day's adoption video? It's on YouTube.
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