Story of a Lily

December 18, 2004 is a very important day in our household. It was the day our hearts were gripped by the plight of orphans worldwide and changed forever. It is the day that we ‘officially’ decided to act, we ‘officially’ decided to alter the face of our family forever and we ‘officially’ decided to let God lead us to our future son or daughter.

On this particular day, I was home with my then 6 month old son, hanging out, catching up on laundry, cleaning etc. At nap time, I decided to put on an episode of Oprah that I had DVR’d during the week. Her guest was Lisa Ling and it documented the plight of “The Lost Girls of China.” Never before had something motivated me on such a deep level. I watched it through tears that came from my spirit. I knew God was calling us to adopt; specifically a little girl from China.

It was a long few hours before my husband returned home. I immediately asked him to sit down and watch Oprah. Although, he initially rolled his eyes, stated that I shouldn’t tell his friends he was watching her, he ultimately had the same response I did. We would pursue an international adoption…..

We stayed up until nearly 2 am talking about it and asking God to confirm that this was His will for us. The next morning, we again excitedly spoke of traveling to China. As we arrived at church (tired from staying up late), we honestly were a little distracted during praise and worship. Each of us was separately asking God if we were hearing Him correctly. Our mouths dropped open as from the pulpit they showed pictures of the pastor’s son in China picking up his beautiful daughter! Photo after photo showed smiling faces and a few tears on their “Gotcha Day,” I knew that it was only a matter of time before we experienced the same wave of emotion. God is so good. He is in the details……again and again proving that He wants to make himself known to us.

Within a few days, we had a name. Lily. As we announced to our family our intentions to adopt, we also told them our name. I felt it was so important to have a name…….to prayer for our daughter by name. Lily. What a beautiful name.

In my naiveté, I had it all worked out. I would turn 30 in the summer of 2007 and we would bring our daughter home in 2008 (preferably around the time of the Olympics). We continued to buy presents for Lily and talk to our son about his little sister. We have a dresser drawer full of trinkets and special items……ladybugs galore…..all for our Lily.

As 2007 began and we learned we no longer met the criteria for an adoption from China we decided to have another biological child. We were more than thrilled and super excited about her impending birth. However, I had a nagging feeling. Why had I so clearly felt that we would have Lily home in 2008……...

In November of 2007, I had an opportunity to travel to Hangzhou, China for a Cancer Genetics conference for work. Even though I was 4 months pregnant, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. God had given me a heart for China and now I had the chance to set foot there. I didn’t yet know that I was carrying a girl but felt in my spirit that I was…….how do all these mothers handle the societal pressure to have a boy……what must it feel like to abandon your newborn daughter? I simply couldn’t imagine. My trip to China was beautiful, peaceful and fast!! There and back in a whirlwind 5 days. We had an opportunity to visit West Lake; the most famous landmark in Hangzhou.

As I watched the world prepare for the Olympics in Beijing, my heart was fixated on what could have been…….and what I felt was supposed to be. I prayed that I would have peace and know that God was in control. On July 30, 2008 just days before the Olympics were to begin, I found myself reading about hundreds of international students looking for host homes for the upcoming school year. I sent a quick inquiry assuming it would be for the following school year. I learned moments later that there was still time for us to host for the 2008-2009 school year……but we needed to act fast.

The agency sent me a few profiles of young women in China and within 30 minutes we had a confirmation that we would be hosting Yarong for the 2008 school year…..and that she would be arriving in less than 30 days. What? How could that be so easy?? Imagine my surprise when I viewed her profile and she was from…….you guessed it…..Hangzhou, China! Her introductory essay spoke about her love of all things American, her desire to be a physician, her love of Art and the joy she has when walking around West Lake. I felt an instant peace and I knew her family would too. They could send her to a family where the mom had been to her home town.

Yarong had been waiting for a family to choose her for nearly 8 months. The deadline to find a family was August 1st! With only hours to spare, she found a home and became our daughter. We began e-mailing a few weeks later in preparation for her arrival. During our e-mail exchanges she requested help choosing an American/English name. She originally chose Cindy and asked that we call her that instead of Yarong. I expressed that we would follow her wishes but were happy to call her by her given name. A few days later she e-mailed again with the news she wanted to change her English name to Susy. Did we mind? Which one did we like better? Again, we expressed that we would follow her wishes. I am very struck by the meaning of names and decided to look up both in hopes of helping her choose. Moments later another e-mail. Susy it was.

I proceeded with my plans but only looked up Susy (or in this case Susan). Susan is Hebrew for Lily. (check for yourself at www.babynames.com)

God had fulfilled His promise to our family. He had brought Lily home and around the time of the Olympics. As my husband says, you can’t make this stuff up!

God is in the details and He desires to make Himself known to you…….