Her name….(there’s a story)

Do you ever just get amazed at how something just works out, like it was “meant to be” and you stumbled upon a plan that had been written and thought of before you ever even were aware of why it needed to be thought of, or planned in the first place?? LOL …you following me???

Well, that’s how our future China daughter’s name came to be….it was planned and thought of before we even knew we needed it.

When we were preggo with Ashton, we had this certain name reserved for the baby in case it was a girl. We really liked the name and I’m sure looked up the meaning. So, obviously Ashton was a boy, and we didn’t need the girl name! We had no idea at the time that one day we would NEED THAT NAME, and how significant it would be!

As soon as we committed to the decision to adopt we KNEW that same minute, without a doubt, what her name would be…..it just felt right! We loved the name, and never had the chance to use it! And, since we couldn’t remember what it meant (it was 6 years ago people)…we looked it up, and WOW, I was stunned! It was at that ACTUAL moment I was POSITIVE, without a doubt that God wanted and had reserved her name to be this name!!

See, about a couple years ago when the Lord placed the desire to adopt on my heart…it was at a time when I was coming to understand, in a new way, what it meant to be a believer! I was also struck by the significance of my attachment to a special story in the bible, and how it had a special new meaning in my life with this new understanding. Before I get to the story, let me fill in what this new understanding of my faith encompassed.

One day, when I was listening to a special speaker at a certain Christian conference, my ears were opened to a new understanding. For the first time I understood the doctrine of our heavenly adoption. I saw myself as “adopted, found, sought after, and rescued by the Lord.” I saw with new eyes what it really meant to be a Christian….I was adopted by my Heavenly Father. When He opened my eyes, at 14 years old, and I came to accept Jesus as my Savior then I was immediately an heir of the King! I had an inheritance, I had a hope, a future, a family, a security that could never be taken away….all of which was given freely. I didn’t earn this ….I was “sought after” and grafted in to the family of God….WOW! It blew my mind, this new understanding of heavenly adoption.

So, back to that certain special and significant bible story: So, there is this parable that I had always loved….but, now the meaning became so much deeper for me, with my new understanding. The parable is a story about these sheep and their shepherd….See, this shephard had 100 sheep, but one was LOST, it was missing…there was a significant void in this sheep herd. 99 is a lot sheep, but it didn’t matter….he didn’t want ANY to be lost!! So, he left the 99 (I can only assume, under safe care) and, he aggressively went out after that ONE sheep who was lost. And, it says HE REJOICED WHEN HE FOUND HIM!

Here is the actual scripture, in case my rendition didn’t really cut it….

Well, for the first time, I felt like I was that ONE sheep to GOD….GOD HAD JOY OVER ME!!! He rejoiced over me, when I came to him over 2o years ago!! I was lost, but then I was found. So this is true for each person who comes to know and accept Jesus in their hearts as their savior. He desires that NONE be lost.

So, God was laying the desire to adopt on my heart. And, I immediately saw the parallels that this parable had to our call for adoption in our family. Now, hear me out! We certainly don’t plan to call ourselves the “rescuer” of this child while we raise her and we certainly have no plans to call her, nor make her feel like a “rescuee”! But, we do feel ….NO, we KNOW our family is missing a daughter, we know we are NOT COMPLETE, we KNOW she is in China! Four kiddies is a lot, and our hearts are FULL of gratitude and thankfulness for each of our special blessings! But…still…ONE IS MISSING, and we all know it (God placed her on our hearts)…even our little Ashy! And, I even think the dogs know it too! 😉

So….sometime in the near future, we will have to leave our four babies and dogs (in good hands, that is) and go across the world to SEEK and bring home our baby girl that belongs in our family.

However, in reality….it really isn’t us at all that will find her. No, it is our faithful and loving God who will seek her and bring her home….just as he seeks out each one of us who are called to HIS family. In fact, this adoption reminds us of our heavenly adoption in Christ. And, I just can’t wait to see the story unfold…and we feel humbled to be a part of it!

Yeah, her name is meant to be Tahlia.

Wanna know what her middle name will be??

….. the poor girl is doomed to incorrect spellings and pronunciations for the rest of her life….but, I had to deal with it, and I turned out ok (I think).

“Tahlia” for little lamb and “Joy” for what it brings our family to be on this journey to her and what we will feel when we finally have her in our arms!!! Oh, I can only imagine the emotion and tears of joy that will flood our hearts…

reminds me of this part of the parable:



“When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!”

Yeah….be prepared for LOTS OF SHOUTING to neighbors and friends once we GOT HER IN OUR ARMS! Thank God for the ability to skype and blog from China!!