Hello, we are Bryce and Brelin! We’ve been married for 6 years and have the most incredible 4-year-old daughter, Indie. We’ve been trying over the last three years to grow our family. After lots of doctor’s appointments and many tests, we found ourselves in the “unexplained secondary infertility” category. It has been so hard, but the Lord has been so near. We’ve felt grief that is difficult to explain, but our sadness has existed in a space just for the two of us, and we’re certain our marriage is stronger because of it. For that, we are grateful. As we started praying through what was next for us, we kept feeling confused and unsure with how to proceed.

We’ve been praying every night for the last three years that the Lord would give our family another baby. Indie has started referring to it as our “Jesus baby”. She’ll say things like, “When God gives us our Jesus baby, can I share my snacks with it?” (It’s really sweet!) One day, a few month ago, Bre and Indie were playing, and Indie said, “Hey mom, when God gives us our Jesus baby, can I share this toy with it?” Bre said of course and, just for fun, asked, “What do you think we should name our Jesus baby?” Indie quickly replied, “I don’t know, maybe it already has a name.”

It was then that we started seriously praying about adoption. Even before we were married, we both felt a pull toward adoption, we just assumed we would pursue it further down the road. It wasn’t until Indie’s sweet comment that we felt the Lord open our minds and hearts to the possibility of growing our family through adoption at this time.

(How kind is God to use the kids in our lives to bring clarity to what feels hazy? It’s not lost on us what a gift Indie is!)

We’ve met and are getting started with an incredible local private adoption agency that has shown us nothing but kindness! We’ve learned so far, however, that pursuing adoption takes three things: money, time, and faith.

Home studies, legal fees, medical expenses, etc. all add up really quickly. Private adoptions typically cost around $30,000. It’s also a long process with applications, trainings, and then getting matched with a birth mother. And here’s where the faith comes in… we believe, more than anything, that God’s plan for us is the best plan. We are trusting Him to provide the resources for adoption, and to match us with a baby in His perfect timing.

If you can donate to our adoption journey, thank you, we are so grateful. But whether or not you can contribute financially, we are asking for your prayers! Here are some specific things we’re praying for:

-That God would provide resources to fund the adoption.

-That He would make our hearts patient in the waiting.

-That He would match us with a birth mother that we would be able to begin a special relationship with. And that if she doesn’t yet know Jesus, she would enter into a relationship with Him sometime during this process.

-That her pregnancy and the delivery of the baby would be without complications and that the Lord would be so near to her as she wrestles with all the emotions of placing her baby in another home.

-That the baby placed in our family would accept the gift of salvation at an early age and would live in relationship with God all the days of his or her life!

-That the baby and Indie would quickly become each other’s best friends.

Again, we are grateful! Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us over the last few years. Your faith, your prayers, and your encouragement has carried us in many moments when it felt like our faith was too weak to stand on its own. And to those who are now joining in by praying for us, thanks for taking the next shift. :) We are unbelievably grateful.

If we’ve learned anything during this battle with infertility it’s that God is kinder than we can imagine and closer than we expect. Again, thank you!

*Side note from Brelin, if you find yourself in a spiritually dark season, please pick up a copy of “The Night is Normal” by Alicha Britt Chole. I’ve never read a better perspective on dark times in faith!*