God says, “I know
the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and
not to harm you”
(Jeremiah 29:11).
Well, He has certainly
shown this to be truth in our lives. We married at the age
of seventeen with hearts full of love for each other and
a mutual desire to have a large family. Both raised by parents
who had taught us love for children, we shared the same
vision -- to have a house full of kids. Neither of us knew
the full extent of God’s plans for us in this area, but
through the years we have watched His plans unfold. And
what amazing plans they are!
Billy and I married
in October of 1975. Between February 1977 and January 1984,
God blessed us with three biological children: Christy,
Josey, and Katrina. With Katrina barely two, we heard God’s
first major calling concerning our destiny. He said, “Be
a foster parent.” We reluctantly agreed. We had previously
discussed adoption, but fostering had never even been considered.
But here again, our Father knew best. His ways are certainly
higher than our ways (Isaiah 55: 8-9). God knew that we
would need all the training and experience for the years
ahead. From 1987 to May of 1993, God sent ten foster children,
each with their individual set of needs and problems. The
greatest need by far of each child was to know that someone
loved them, to know that they had a Heavenly Father who
loved them. We were so grateful and blessed by the Lord
to be allowed to adopt three of these foster children. Peggy
(10) and Cindy (7) came to us in 1987 and became legal members
of our family in 1989. That same year, little Greyson (2
½ months old) came to us in a body cast with multiple fractures
at varying degrees of healing. He finally received his adoption
papers in 1992. With three biological children and three
adopted, our family was slowly taking shape, but God had
only begun.
The next phase
of God’s plan was revealed by a dream in which He told us
we were to adopt a Hispanic sibling group. In 1993, God
told us with Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” Within
two days, He miraculously showed us which children were
ours and where they were located. Our four new additions
arrived in July. Alex (11), Weston (9), Diana (7), and Pamela
(6) brought so much love and blessings to our family. We
finalized their adoption March 29, 1995. Now with ten children,
we exceeded state regulations for fostering, but God was
only just getting started with our adoption journey.
Ricky (5) joined
our family December 1995, directly followed by Gabriel (a
newborn) in May of 1996. Gabriel experienced complications
requiring surgery to remove a portion of his colon and intestines
and had to have a colostomy (which was later reversed at
five and one half months of age). We praise God for His
healing restoration process not just physically, but emotionally
and spiritually in the lives of these children. He is truly
the God that restores the years the locust have eaten (Joel
2:25). Ricky and Gabriel’s adoptions were finalized October
of 1996. We then had an “even dozen.” God allowed us to
pause and catch our breath on adopting, as He plunged us
headlong into home schooling. Life with Him is just one
incredible adventure after another.
In the fall of
1998, with our four oldest children having moved out into
various walks of life (marriage, college, etc.), God began
to deal with our hearts about a sibling group in Texas.
Anna (9), David (7), Bethany (5), and Adam (2) arrived in
March of 1999. In October as I prepared to fly back to Texas
to finalize their adoption, we received a phone call. The
children’s birth mom had given birth to another baby and
our worker wondered if we wanted him. So two days later,
after we finalized the adoption on Anna and her siblings,
we were introduced to our new son, Joel Isaac.
Our family then
totaled nineteen. With Billy and myself, thirteen children
at home, and four grown, God had exceeded our own definitions
of a “large” family. But God was not finished yet. Joseph
(7) arrived in September 2000 with his own special story.
He was closely followed by another sibling group from Texas
incorporating Ruth (7), Rebekah (6), and Lydia (5) into
our family. All four of these children became legal Walkers
in October of 2001.
If you are trying
to keep count, that is three biological children and eighteen
adopted, making twenty-one children all total, seventeen
of which are still at home.
So what’s next? God has I Ititled His ministry here REFUGE
RANCH for “God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The Lord has me doing a lot
of teaching and sharing about God’s views on adoption. Just
in case you are considering it, I would like to assure you
that adopting is the heart of the Father. When we accept
Christ, God adopts us into His family, giving to
us all the love, rights, privileges, and inheritance that
He has bestowed upon His only begotten Son, Jesus. Adoption
originated in the Heart of God! So when
we step out on this journey of adoption, we are just patterning
in the natural realm what the Father has done for us in
the spiritual realm. Wouldn’t you like to be a part of an
adopted child being able to say, “But as for you [satan],
you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people
alive” (Genesis 50:20)? What an awesome testimony of what
great things the Lord has done. Will you step out today?
There may be a child out there -- a little boy or a little
girl -- with no home, no food, no clothes, no LOVE
! Please pray about it. They could be waiting just
for you !
Adoption?
It’s not just a good thing; it’s a “God Thing”!
