Carol spells adoption differently than the average person on the street. The spelling is simple, she says: It’s L-O-V-E.
In October 2017, Carol had a heart breaking conversation with her daughter––it was a meeting that no mother imagines ever having. Her daughter told her that she wanted to surrender the parental rights of her three daughters: Emma, Jamie, and Addie.
Heart-broken, Carol sat in silence weighing the gravity of what she had just heard. She began to pray. She talked with God, crying out for the needs of her daughter, for her three granddaughters’ futures, and for His divine direction.
She would spend many sleepless nights praying, drawing closer to God, seeking a miracle.
Kayla and Wes entered into marriage with a heart for adoption. Before marrying, Kayla would curiously seek information about adoption.
To adopt or not was never a question, it was only when. Seeking the “when” became a constant prayer as the couple went about their lives––serving in their church and growing careers.
Carol knew the girls needed a Christian mother and father. She did not know how the need would be met. She did know the Lord God who already inhabited the future and she trusted He was at work, paving the way. Carol kept praying.
“Prayer, prayer, prayer,” Kayla asserts. “Wes and I believe in prayer and connecting to God––we are reminded time and time again that He knows our needs and we can trust His timing.”
Wes and Kayla were convinced they were called to adopt, but both agree that just as important as the calling is, it is important to wait on God. In December 2018, they both believed it was time. God’s word to them was to actively pursue adoption. They turned to Christian Adoption Services (CAS) for help.
Carol was stunned when Kevin Qualls was introduced during worship at her church.
Qualls was the president of Christian Adoption Services and his message that morning was entitled “Adopted into the Kingdom.” At the close of the service, she was holding a CAS brochure. She remembers thinking, “God is already at work.”
“We didn’t know what to expect at the initial meeting.” Wes recalls. “We had peace in our hearts and knew Christian Adoption Services was the way for us to go.”
Wes begins to layout the timeline. The information session was on January 31, 2019. The couple learned that 98% of adoptions are for newborns. And if the couple applied, it would take at least 7-8 months or longer for a placement. With confidence, Kayla and Wes moved forward submitting their application on Saturday, February 8 and did not expect to hear back for a few weeks.
To their surprise, Wes’s phone rang that Monday. It was Marcia from CAS. The couple was told of three young sisters who needed a mommy and daddy. Marcia told Kayla and Wes that they had been praying for God to send the right couple and she felt they might just be the ones.
“It was immediate,” Kayla says, “Wes and I looked at each other and said, ‘We are going to do this.”
Carol wanted an open adoption for her granddaughters. Her desire for them to have loving, Christian parents did not mean that she did not want to continue to be the girls’ “Grammy.” Just weeks after Kayla and Wes applied, they were sitting with Carol.
“After spending time with Wes and Kayla,” Carol says, “I knew they were God’s choice to parent the girls. God confirmed it when they told me about their first date––it was the exact day and time of Emma’s birth. God put them together and chose them to be the parents of not only Emma, but Jamie and Addie as well––to raise them for His glory.”
“We believed God said to go, do it!” Wes says. “At that time, we didn’t know where the money needed to cover the costs of three adoptions would come from or how we would accommodate the girls in our three bedroom home. We just knew this was right––and soon the answers began to come.”
“When God moves, He moves,” Kayla added. “We finalized the girls’ adoption in June–– four and a half months after the first information meeting.”
Wes and Kayla have been married six and a half years. They both welcomed the idea of having a child when they first married, but a child did not come. With three new daughters making them a family of five, Kayla learned that she was pregnant. Josiah was born July 14, 2020.
Josiah’s sisters are thrilled about having a baby brother. Kayla says each daughter is so gentle and helpful with Josiah.
This past Thanksgiving, the family was counting blessings when Wes asked Emma what she was thankful for––she didn’t hesitate, “A mommy and a daddy.”
Baptist Children's Homes is working with families and churches to connect vulnerable children to Christian homes. For more information about Adoption, go to www.www.bchfosteradopt.org
Article by Jim Edminson, Charity & Children Editor