The Massey Family

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Yes, His ways are higher and BETTER! 

We began our journey to become parents in December of 1998. We had always wanted at least 2 (maybe 3 or 4) children, and we both thought it would be an easy task. God had other plans for us! 

After years of praying for a child, unsuccessful trying, calculating, and crying, we went to see a fertility expert. We tried drugs and Intra-Uterine Insemination without success. We decided to pursue In Vitro Fertilization. After terrible shots, one terrible reaction, and many painful procedures, we just knew it was going to be a success. God had other plans for us!

We tried In Vitro Fertilization twice. I couldn’t stand the thought of having frozen embryos, so we used all of them.  Needless to say, it didn’t work.  We were totally devastated. I wondered what I had done wrong and went into a deep depression. During this time, a friend from our church told me to look up the above verses from Isaiah.  We also decided to take a vacation to “get over” things (if that was possible). 

We traveled to beautiful Jamaica, and we fell in love with the place and its people.  We loved the babies and children, especially seeing them in their school uniforms, anxiously looking at us Americans with smiles on their faces.  At that time, God planted the seed of adoption in our hearts.  I began asking our tour guide about adoption, and he said that many of the Jamaican women would give their children away for them to have better lives.  That blew our minds! 

When we got home, we began searching for adoption agencies.  We came across CWA on the Internet and sent for the information.  When the package arrived, I opened it, and there was a picture of a lady that used to work with my mom.  Her son was from Guatemala.  We called her, and my mom and I went to visit them the next week.  God used them to help us with our decision. 

We attended a seminar in Hendersonville, and our anxieties were calmed.  Yes, we could do this, and yes, we could afford this.  We might be paying for a long time, but it was SO worth it.  Our family was finally going to be complete. 

We turned in our dossier on January 14, 2004, and we got “the call” on March 10, 2004.  Makenna Raye was born on February 15, the day after Valentine’s Day!  When the UPS package arrived, we sat on our sofa deciding when to open it.  When we did, we fell in love.  She was beautiful, but most of all, she was healthy and OURS! 

The waiting was terribly hard, but we kept referring to the verses in Isaiah when we needed strength.  We traveled on July 16, and Makenna was brought to us on July 17, her Papa’s birthday!  (What a present!)  We will never forget landing in Atlanta and seeing the looks on our families’ faces when they saw her for the first time.  The parties and celebrations started, and lasted for weeks after we brought her home.

After we had settled in, I began to realize that I had never really turned myself 100% over to God.  His ways were higher than my ways, and He had loved me all of the time, even when I was mad at Him, and was questioning His ways.  His ways were so much better than anything I had ever planned.  Makenna is the perfect completion to our family.  We love her more and more each day!  Her smile makes my day, and she is so funny! 

I never thought I would be able to say this, but I am SO HAPPY that I wasn’t able to have a biological child.  Makenna is OUR child.  She is the answer to our prayers!  We praise Him for answering our prayers in His time and in His way! 

Randy, Andrea, & Makenna Massey

I Samuel 1:27 “For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him."