Our Special Holiday Blessings

As the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, many take the time to reflect on the gift God sent us in His Son. Unfortunately for many, the holidays are the only time taken from busy lives to remember this blessed gift of grace. I am so thankful and humbled that God chose to give our family a daily reminder of His precious gift, Jesus, through the gift of adoption. Looking into the beautiful faces of my children, I am sadly reminded that a brave young woman in another country unselfishly gave up not one but two of her children so that they could have a life very different from the one they would have had with her and in that process gave a couple an incredible gift of love.

Our adoption journey began in December 2002. It was then during our home study we decided to adopt from the beautiful country of Guatemala. We received the referral of our daughter on March 17, 2003. Seeing Maddie’s picture on Nancy’s computer screen for the first time is beyond words and an experience that we thought could never be matched. Since the country was experiencing some difficulties in the adoption realm we took a giant leap of faith and accepted the referral knowing that the adoption may never be completed. We never anticipated the plans God had for our family.

The next nine months became an incredible journey of ups and downs. God used that time to teach us so many things, the most important being that we must wait on Him and trust that His timing is always, always perfect. Looking back now, I am ashamed to say that I at times failed miserably at this task. Fortunately for us, He is a compassionate God who loves His children unconditionally and always works for His glory no matter our response to Him.

Traveling to pick up Maddie in December of 2003 was a bittersweet time as so many of our CWA friends were still caught in the political quagmire of Guatemalan adoptions. We were one of the first ones to be released from PGN and couldn’t comprehend how and why God chose us. We also had a huge surprise when we were given the wonderful opportunity to meet Maddie’s birthmother and oldest sister on that trip. Little did we know how that meeting was going to change our lives even more.

The morning of February 17, 2004 was more memorable than the day of Maddie’s referral. It was on that day the God so graciously decided that He would reveal to us the purpose behind His timeline with Maddie’s adoption. We received a shocking phone call that announced the birth of our son, Maddie’s biological brother. Their birthmother had been pregnant during our visit with us, a complete surprise to us. It was with bated breath we waited to see the first pictures of the son God had chosen to give to us. Holding Maddie in my lap, we pulled up the email. Her reaction was priceless and really indescribable. She looked at the picture, turned to us smiling from ear to ear with a knowing look and simply said "baby." It was as if she knew this was her brother and he was being entrusted to our care.

Gray’s adoption held for us its own set of challenges but again the lessons learned surpass the valleys. We held Gray for the first time on our seventh anniversary and returned home around midnight on the morning of Thanksgiving 2004. Maddie’s reaction to the new addition of our family was yet another example of God’s grace. Thinking she would hold on tight to me and be jealous of this little stranger, imagine my surprise when my beautiful 20 month old daughter peacefully looked at her precious 9 month old brother, said his name, and hugged him before giving me a hug. The bond they continue to share is an incredible miracle.

It is hard to believe that it was only a year ago that our family became complete. November 24, 2004 a brother and sister were introduced for the first time and a family was created because of a young woman’s unselfish gift. On this, our first holiday season in two years spent at home instead of traveling to Guatemala, we are humbled that God has chosen us to be the parents of these special children. We have so many reasons to be thankful and are truly blessed. We wouldn’t trade any of the experiences we have had over the past two years. Even in our unfaithfulness, God chose to bless our home with the sounds of joy and laughter. The love we receive from our children is a debt that we will never be able to repay, just like the gift of grace God sent to this earth over 2000 years ago. Our prayer is that God will continue to reveal Himself and His grace to others through the story of our family.

Matt & Shelbi Gladwell