I am so glad to have a guest blogger today; the mother in this beautiful family story. The Atnip family: Matt, Ashley, Alana, Mattie, & now Amara, have been an amazing example of faith for me personally and countless others. Matt speaks & teaches in the Spirit and he always has my full attention on the words of the Lord. Ashley's grace, faith, and strength have spoken to my soul and I am proud to call them both "friend".
Please enjoy a wondrous tale of love through adoption from Ashley:
I have always loved pictures. While visiting my childhood
home over this past holiday I happened upon photo collages filled with all
things high school. My nieces and
nephews laughed and allowed me to reminisce and reconnect to a time scripted
with youth. My love of smiling faces is clear in my home. My father-in-law once told me if I wanted to
put up more photos I would need to buy a bigger house. I do love photos, but I love a story even
more. Photos can tell a story, and I
value creating a home where the people I love most see their stories on our
very walls. Stories matter to me.
Stories also matter to Julizza Holub at JH Capturing
Creations Photography. She strives to find a story in her photos and helps
clients plan a session that is a reflection of what knits them together. My
family has recently been knitted together through the adoption of a baby girl born
in Debre Berhan, Ethiopia. Julizza agreed to photograph our family for the
first time, and she helped us add our latest story to our mantle located in our
living room. This is a story divinely created through God’s provision, love,
and grace both for my family and this new little gal who came all around the
world to find a place in our family photograph---forever.
God gave us our first daughter, Alana, just over seven years
ago, and Mattie Wynne came three and a half years later. We are beyond thankful
for the gifts of these girls and love framing their stories all over our home.
Mattie Wynne was born healthy but I had a very difficult pregnancy, and for
many reasons, having another biological child was just not part of our story. I
could always imagine another child in our family but at the time my sweet
husband did not feel the calling for adoption. I prayed about the piece of my
heart still open to another story in our lives. I prayed and I prayed---hoping
that one day my husband might feel something of what I was feeling. We did not
talk about it often as I never wanted to force a chapter that was waiting to be
written. Mattie Wynne is now well over two, and I am still praying. During this
time, I began reading Katie Davis’ book
Kisses from Katie and fell in love with her tale of recklessly loving orphans in
Africa and eventually calling thirteen of them her own. She gave up the typical
American life to live alongside 13 African girls and saturate their lives with
the indescribable love of Jesus. It is impossible to read her words and walk
away unchanged.
“Remind us that all
the children we touch, and all the children we don’t, are Yours. Yours in this
broken life, and Yours in eternity.” ~Kisses from Katie
I finish this book
and pass it around to many friends and just continue to find myself captivated by
the work God has her doing. I find myself wanting even a small portion of God’s
work with orphans on my wall and etched in my heart. A few months later, my
husband attended the Catalyst conference in Atlanta, Georgia. While there,
Katie Davis walks out on stage to share her story with thousands of people. When
asked what advice she would give to someone considering adoption and whether
prayer was a part of it, she simply said that yes, she would recommend praying
but that she doubted God would say no. The words
God would not say no were heard by my husband, and he began to pray
and to completely give this to the Lord. God was stirring in both of us, and in
HIS own time, God brought Matt and I to the same place. The story was
beginning.
“Many days I see the
destitute, disease-ridden children lining the streets in the communities I
serve and I want to scoop up every single one of them, take them home with me,
and feed and clothe and love them. And I look at the life of my Savior, who
stopped for one. So I keep stopping and loving one person at a time. Because this
is my call as a Christian. I can do only what one woman can do, but I will do
what I can. Daily, the Jesus who wrecked my life enables me to do so much more
than I ever thought possible.” ~Kisses from Katie
When my Matt got home from the 2011 Catalyst conference he
still prayed. He soon decided that he needed to tell me that God was calling
our family to adoption before something talked him out of it. The following
Sunday after we had eaten together with our family, I sat next to Matt on the
couch. Out of the blue, he whispered to me that God was calling our family to
adoption. I instantly cried and jumped off the couch and continued jumping
around the living room. We began to piece together how Katie Davis had
influenced our family and how her name is part of our story.
“Before many of them
come in the gate, they ask what they are expected to pay. When I respond that
this program is free, no strings attached, they fall to their knees in the red
dust and fight back tears as they thank me. They ask me why am I doing this?
Why do they deserve this? Why do I care so much? The answer is simple: ‘Because
the Lord who created you loves you. Because He created you for a purpose and He
wants you to fulfill that purpose. Because the God who knows every hair on your
head desires to lift you out of this dust and into His glory.’” ~Kisses from
Katie
After a few days passed, we began asking God to give us a
blueprint on leading us to our child.
Although we researched all of our options, we quickly landed on
Ethiopia. We loved the idea of being a part of the work God is doing around the
world and being able to celebrate this as a family. A dear, dear friend of mine
named Kasey Hauret walked through this entire process with me and became my
biggest cheerleader. She introduced me to our agency, Celebrate Children
International, and stayed close by as we wrote the story of paperwork, social
work visits, background checks. medical exams, financial statements, mailbox
anxiety, and all the ups and downs of bringing a child from across the globe
into our home.
“My candle is lit, I
am on fire for God, for this place, for these people. My purpose here is to
spread His light. One candle can light up my entire room. Jesus can light up
this entire nation and my flame can be a part of that.” Kisses from Katie
Although many stories of international adoption are painted
with dire circumstances, we were matched to a child just months after
committing to our agency. Soon after, our agency sent us a link to our
daughter’s picture. We pushed enter, and there she was. We were in love.
We flew to Africa three months later to attend Ethiopian
court. Amara Jenn Atnip became our daughter.
“‘Mommy.’ She said it
and I knew. She was mine. I was captivated. Because Mommy is forever.” ~Kisses
from Katie
We painfully had to leave her there until the United States
Embassy issued her a passport. Due to some complications this took over three
months. After one month passed the pain became excruciating. We held tight to God’s faithfulness but a
true grief just settled in for me. The longing for this child was intense. Many
families wait much, much longer than we did, but I definitely can empathize
with those who are waiting for their child.
I was up super early on my 36th birthday as my
husband woke me up to tell me the Embassy cleared our case. It was such a
beautiful day as the story gains speed. In-laws are coming, friends are calling
to help, plans are being made. We left for Africa three days later. I was living one of my greatest adventures
and I had my big God to thank for inviting me into His story for caring for
orphans.
We brought Amara home to a street full of balloons and signs
decorated by many sweet children that surround my cul-de-sac. My neighbors had
given our story a great cover. We turned
onto Hope Lane and breathed a love that was waiting for our Amara, a child who
without God’s plan for adoption would grow up without a family.
With our Africa trips behind us, it was now time for the mantel
photo. It was time to capture our latest story. God had brought us from a tiny
photo of a 45-day-old baby girl to a 20 by 30 mantel photo with three sweet
daughters ages 6, 3,1/2, and 9 months.
Religion that God our
Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress...
~James 1:27
We thank Julizza for celebrating with us and sharing her
love of stories for the walls in our home. Welcome to the mantel, Amara Jenn
Atnip and yes, I need a bigger house.
