In the sixth grade, I wrote a paper on international adoption. I had always dreamed of having children, but that has not been the direction my life has taken. No marriage and no kids, in the traditional sense.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart,” Right?! My desire was to be a mother, but that was not to happen in the ways that I would’ve originally anticipated.
I remember vividly the first time that I realized that I had taken part in several international adoptions. Looking around my living room at a girls’ Bible study one evening, there were women from Venezuela, Ghana, West Africa, and several states around the U.S. I was humbled and joyful at the realization, but Satan continued to attack and tried to convince me that the desires of my heart were unfulfilled.
God is patient with me and in revealing the fulfillment of our deepest desires. Allow me to share a specific instance of my transformation of joy and the desires of my heart – a story I shared this past weekend in Sacramento with the single sisters in attendance.
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Some friends of mine had their second child, a baby girl, on a Monday evening in February 2014. Noah James was excited to welcome his baby sister, while mom and dad shared in the inexpressible joy of having a healthy baby born into the world. I woke up on Tuesday to her beautiful picture on Facebook and my heart filled with joy for them – not only a joy in the birth of a new child, but also the reminder of transformation we can have in Christ when we surrender our lives to him.
Tia and Charlie were active students at the LSU Christian Student Center where I served as Women’s Campus Minister for six years. Theirs is a story of God’s power and the Spirit working in their lives and if I were to tell you some of the stories from when we first met, you would not even recognize the children of God that they are today!
I am honored to have been a small part of their journey and am thrilled to see them pass on a hunger and thirst for God and godly living to their children: Noah James and Abigail Joy. While we no longer live in the same city, prayer and technology keep us closely connected and bonded for life.
However, the greatest source of joy came a few minutes after I hit “like” on the baby’s newborn picture. I have pasted below the text Tia sent me, which I humbly share as a reminder of God’s promise of redemption and with much love. ~ Michelle Joy.
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newborn Abigail Joy[/caption]
“Abigail Joy. Named after the woman who gave me a thirst for the Living Water. Love you.”
I almost couldn’t finish reading the text as my eyes filled with humble tears and inexpressible joy. It was a testimony to God’s transformation of the deepest desires of my heart – not children I birthed in the traditional sense or daughters with whom I could share my middle name, Joy. Rather, spiritual children and this baby girl, Abigail Joy, who I consider one of many spiritual grandchildren.
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Noah James, Michelle Joy, and Abigail Joy[/caption]