In the tiny, cramped doctor’s office, my wife and I wait to get the news that would change our lives forever. Our fate rests in the hands of a doctor who we barely know.
The doctor walks into the room and tells my wife and I, “I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that you will never have a child by natural means. The good news is that we can give you a family with science [artificial conception].” That wasn’t for me. I get up, thank the doctor and walk out.
The Most Powerful Question You Will Ever Ask
Later that night, I sat alone in the classroom of silence with God and asked the most powerful question you can ever ask:
“God, what do you think I should do?”
When I ask this question, there’s usually no answer. But deep within my conscience, God sometimes gives the answers to life’s most difficult questions and on this night, God spoke to me: “There are babies waiting for you.” I knew what to do.
Our Adoption Story
I had always wanted to adopt and this gave us the perfect opportunity. So, my wife and I went to Russia to adopt 2 babies. Our adoption agent told us that we would know our children would be as soon we saw them and she was right.
At the orphanage, my wife and I were handed two tiny baby twins, Boris and Liliya. We instantly fell in love. The tiny twins were the most beautiful gift we could ever hope for, and we knew we had found our children. But then life threw a curve ball at us.
An aide at the orphanage brought us another baby, Oleg. Again, Lisa and I fell in love from the moment we saw our “dancing baby” and knew that Oleg was our son. But we had a problem: we came to Russia to adopt 2 children and we had no plans for a third (and had no clue how to care for 2 babies, much less 3).
When I went to our apartment in Russia later that night, I kneeled down in the classroom of silence with God and asked the most powerful question you will ever ask:
“God, what do you think I should do?”
Deep within my conscience, God answered my question: “These babies are my gift for you.” A difficult question provided a clear answer: my wife and I knew that Boris, Liliya and Oleg were our children.
A Family of 2 Becomes a Family of 5
5 months later, Lisa and I attended a court proceeding in Russia to finalize the adoption of Tim (Boris), Lily (Liliya) and Alek (Oleg). At the hearing, the Judge asked why we came to Russia. I told the Judge that my wife and I wanted to have children who look like us, but that was only a partial truth. The full truth is that God told us to come to Russia to receive the greatest gift he could ever give. Deep within my heart, I knew this was the truth.
Moments later, the Judge granted our adoption and a family of 2 became a family of 5. None of this would have happened if we had not asked the most powerful question you will ever ask, “God, what do you think I should do?”
It’s easy to ignore this story and think that God doesn’t answer prayers. But I know that sometimes God does. You just have to ask God the most powerful question you will ever ask…and if you do, you might get an answer that you never expect.
Photo by Andreas Wohlfahrt from Pexels
