God Merges Hearts for His Purpose

This story begins many years ago. As a young adult, God clearly gave me a heart of compassion for the orphans of the world. I had no idea what to do with this or where this would lead. There were many reasons not to pursue this – my husband Mark and I were almost 40, we had 3 teenage sons who had their own demands and challenges; this decision would require sacrifices that I wasn’t sure I was willing to make; and this was a one sided desire – Mark did not feel called to adopt.

In 2001, as I participated in several Bible studies, I had a strong feeling and knowledge that “there is more to life as a Christian than what I’m experiencing”. God began to whisper to me that He had something special for us to do. So, I began to pray. My prayers often included a request that He show me His heart and make my heart’s desire to love Him completely. God’s overwhelming message to me during this time was to seek Him and love Him with all of my heart – the details would follow.  

There were many detours and challenges as I walked this journey and dealt with my heart for adoption. I finally told God, but not Mark, “if Mark doesn’t have a change of heart by my 40th birthday on August 6, I am going to let this dream go.” August 6th came and went, and there was no change. I honestly and truly knew that I was to let go – this was not a passion that I could pursue on my own. This dream appeared to be at a dead end. I let it go, and said to myself that I knew that God must have something else in mind for me to do for Him.

I began doing a study of "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren in the summer of 2003. In a way this was the crescendo to the plan that God was getting ready to reveal. I was hungry and desperate to know His purpose for my life. The whirlwind part of this story began on July 4th at a neighborhood pool potluck event. A friend brought up the idea that we should adopt a baby girl from China. I laughed and said that Mark was not
interested in doing this. There was much joking and talking. This day led to some more serious moments in our home. Mark said that he had never truly prayed about this possibility for our family and committed to do so. Then the true miracle happened. The only possible explanation is that God changed Mark’s heart. He merged our hearts for His purpose.

Over the next weeks, God continued to intervene and make His will known. One of my dearest friends that I hadn’t spoken to in months said to me, something like, “You may think this sounds weird, but I have had it on my heart for about 2 weeks that you and Mark should adopt a baby girl from China”. I was flabbergasted and I quickly realized that this confirmation could only come from God. Once again, I was amazed at His activity in our life.

On August 6, 2003, on my 41st birthday, we mailed in the initial application to Christian World Adoption. This began a new journey of love, joys, celebrations, challenges, doubts, and fears. There is a quote from "The Purpose Driven Life" that pierced my heart when I read it: It says, “As you grow closer to Him, He will give you a passion for something He cares about deeply so you can be a spokesman for Him in the world”. God took a dream that He placed in my heart many years ago and is working it out in a way that only He could. He asks of me to love and trust Him. The way is not always smooth or easy, but the journey is so fulfilling.

On September 21, 2004, we were given the gift of Sarah Grace Tian Wilson. Sarah Grace dances and sings through life. She loves reading, tea parties, dressing up as a princess and being a ballerina. On November 1, 2005, we were given the gift of Hannah Joy Jian Wilson. Hannah lives life with great abandon and abundance. She loves to jump into the pool, play basketball, make us all laugh and say "thank you." Both have changed our hearts, our sons, and our entire family forever. We are most blessed and grateful.

Tricia Wilson