To read part 1 of "The Gift of Adoption," click here.
After Luisa and Jarrett suffered the loss of their baby, Chiara, they learned Luisa had a partial molar pregnancy. It takes about three months for all the hormones to drop to zero, and then an additional six months before it’s safe for a woman to become pregnant again. During this time, Jarrett and Luisa started pouring themselves into researching adoption.
As Luisa read, she started getting more excited. “I kept praying, ‘Lord, lead us down the path you want for us,’” said Luisa.
At one point, they started asking each other if they would be interested in domestic or international adoption.
“When I asked Jarrett what he thought, he said he’d like to adopt internationally from Colombia. Colombia is where I was born and my family lives in Colombia. That meant a lot to me,” said Luisa.
While they were doing all of this research, they hadn’t yet decided if they should seek adoption or try to conceive.
“Jarrett asked me if I had asked Jesus what we should do. I said no. He admitted he hadn’t either and we decided we needed to go to the adoration chapel and ask Jesus,” said Luisa.
Soon after, Jarrett came home and Luisa said he was radiating with God’s love and happiness. She knew he had spent time in prayer at the adoration chapel and heard God’s voice. However, when she asked what he had heard, Jarrett responded that he couldn’t say and that she needed to go. She was sure to get up first thing the next morning and head at the adoration chapel.
“I sat down and was like, ‘OK, Jesus, you better tell me what you told Jarrett,’” laughed Luisa.
When Luisa was praying, she opened her hands and she visualized the two options. She placed adoption in one hand and conception in the other hand. She started praying and asking God what path He desired for them.
“At one point, I noticed one of my hands, the one that was holding adoption, felt warm. I looked down and noticed my hand appeared really bright. My other hand was just there. It looked normal. It was very obvious which path God was leading me,” said Luisa. “I said, 'okay Jesus, if this is your will for us, you really need to help open my heart and take away my fears.' When I looked down at my hand again, it looked even brighter.”
When Luisa got home, Jarrett was anxious to hear what she had heard. Luisa insisted that Jarrett share his experience first. Jarrett proceeded to share the exact same prayer experience. How he had held the options in his hands and his hand holding the adoption choice was so bright and beautiful. The two had never discussed praying in this manner. They had only talked about asking Jesus if He wanted them to adopt.
“As Jarrett was telling me this, I had a ginormous smile on my face and my heart was racing! I was filled with awe and a sense of, this is unbelievable!! But, at the same time, I knew deep within my heart this is how God works! I kept moving from a thought of, no way you asked God in the same way to of course we both asked Him in the same way! It was just so incredible,” said Luisa.
Next week, you’ll read about Luisa and Jarrett’s incredible trust in God in part 3 of “The Gift of Adoption”
To read part 1 of "The Gift of Adoption," click here.
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