Listen by Carissa Woodwyk

This was an amazing talk shared at the Summit 9 Conference.  A powerful reminder that everyone who is adopted has a story to tell.



Listen by Carissa Woodwyk from Tapestry on Vimeo.

Follow Me

Imagine being one of the disciples that Jesus called to follow Him.  He said "follow Me"... and through this call, they were given power to lay down their lives and follow.  This moment in time changed their lives and the world.  Throughout Scripture, God gives countless examples of how He invites us to be a part of a bigger story.  His story.  It isn't always easy, it rarely includes white picket fences.  It is a story filled with many unknowns and only one guarantee...He is with us through it all.  But God wants us to enjoy something far better than easy.  Something that surpasses the perception of guarantees.  Something that is more radical than playing it safe in the realm of knowns.  He has invited us to be a part of His story, and that's the greatest story of all.

The moment we were called to adopt a child from China was one of these moments.  It was an invitation for our family to be a part of God's story in the life of an orphan.  We had been praying about it for a long time.  But actually receiving the call from God to move forward with it was a moment we knew would change our lives forever...and that God would change many others' lives as well.  So many of us want to stick with the safe decisions...the ones that lead to a place of comfort, ease, and control.  We want to know the outcome, and we want it to conform with the life we always pictured.  Often times God uses something to change our hearts to direct them towards His course for us, and it rocks our world.  However, it is a gift and adventure to have our world rocked by God's plan.  

While we haven't traveled very far down this road of adoption, we have been so blessed by the unexpected.  Our view of the world has changed.  We have met wonderful new people.  Our eyes have been opened to a world full of children without the basics...a family.  We feel invited into a story bigger than the one that maybe we would have designed for ourselves.  It is a great adventure, though we are aware that many unknowns lie ahead.  We sometimes ask the question, "Do we know what we are getting into?", but I think if we did we may have been too scared to follow.  But our faith is in a God Who is so much bigger than these unknowns.  We know that He has called us to be a part of a greater story than ourselves, and we are excited to surrender to this call fully.  Unknowns and all.

The last couple of weeks of our journey have been exciting.  The approval of our home study, preparing for immigration, and starting to feel like we are close to being matched with our daughter.  God has born her into our hearts.  We think of her with an affection and love that can only be knit together by the Author of such love.  We are thankful that God has said, "follow Me"... into the life of an orphan, into a world unknown, into My design for your family.  We are so thankful that our family has been called, and we are confident that this road will be filled with watching His amazing work effectual in the hearts of our family, our daughter, and others on this journey with us.  He is writing the story...He is knitting our hearts together as a family...and He has promised to be with us through it all.  We will follow You, Abba Father.