Sometimes things happen when you don’t expect it. They just appear out of nowhere, but when they do, you wonder how you ever lived before that moment. That’s how it was with Laney. She appeared when we were not looking for her and she stole a piece of our hearts forever.
It started in April 2006. We were in the process of adopting our first child, a baby boy who we planned to name Josiah. As the months had passed, my husband and I prepared the nursery and we spent our days dreaming of the arrival of this long-awaited blessing. Our cups were full and we were happy.
We did plan to adopt more children in the future and I sometimes looked at the photo listings of adoptable children. Their little faces called to me and their eyes seemed to ask, “Are you the one? Are you my mother?” I knew the answer even as the question was asked. I knew that it was crazy to think of adopting another child when we were still waiting to bring home our first. So, I just looked and kept quiet, reminding myself how blessed we were to have Josiah on his way.
One day, though, I got an email from an agency called Children Concerned. I knew they were a relief organization that worked in Liberia and so I had requested information that I planned to set aside for the future. I read over the information, but I also noticed the attachments. Hannah, the person I was corresponding with, had explained in her email that these were four children who were waiting in the deaf orphanage in Liberia. The first picture I opened was of a beautiful little girl wearing a tattered pink dress. She had a huge smile and bright, soulful eyes. One hand was held up in the “I Love You” sign.
I felt this girl was different, but I just knew my husband would not agree. As I thought about the little girl throughout the rest of the day, I decided that I was just being soft hearted again; that this little girl was no different than all of those little faces on the photo listings. When my husband came home, I showed him the picture, just saying “look at this cute little girl”. His reaction took me completely by surprise. My husband, who is not at all the type to take things lightly, looked back at me and said “Shoshanna, this is our daughter”.
Over the next few days we talked about why it might not be a good idea and about how it might not be responsible. Could we really handle adopting two children, from two countries, at the same time? Did we have what it takes to raise a deaf child? However, the more questions we asked ourselves, the more we realized that this was something that was possible. When we contacted our homestudy agency, they had nothing but positive things to say. When we asked friends for advice and prayer, they were nothing but positive. Most of all, we knew in our heart of hearts that this was our daughter.
Finally, about a week after we first saw that little girl’s picture, we sent an email to Children Concerned. It was titled “We’ve Decided!” and it was one of the happiest emails I have ever written. Laney, that gorgeous girl with the amazing smile was going to be our daughter.
Sometimes things happen when you don’t expect them, but sometimes those are the best things in life. For me, Laney is one of those beautiful things.