Adoptive parents Jess and Josh Tkacik wrote the following post to share their journey in allowing God to lead them to the daughter they never dreamed of.
We began our adoption process confident that God was calling us to add a healthy child or two to our young family. We never dreamed of intentionally adding a special needs child to our family. So as we buzzed through our dossier, we rationalized why considering a special needs child wouldn’t work for us.
“We already have three kids that we need to look out for, it would be irresponsible to add a child with extra baggage.”
“We only have so many resources; our time, finances, careers, and dreams wouldn’t be able to accommodate a child who is more demanding than most.”
“And if we are being completely honest—what would people say? Our friends and family would think we’re crazy! We can’t risk being ostracized.”
“No, no,” we told each other. “God will call other more ‘able’ couples, wealthy couples without any children, for those special kiddos.
So without a whole lot of prayer or deep thought, we made up our minds and moved through our dossier paperwork proudly proclaiming our intent to “bring 1 or 2 (healthy) children home.”
How embarrassing. But true. We weep now as we type that. We are so ashamed.
By the grace of God, He gave us just what we needed…three and a half years of waiting…ugh…but that’s what we needed to fully embrace God’s plan for our family. A multitude of God ordained situations, circumstances and interactions produced a healthy heart change in us that lead us to our precious “special needs” daughter.
The daughter we never dreamed of.
We never dreamed that our three-year-old non-verbal daughter could bring such deep, rich, Christ-centered conversation into our home.
We never dreamed that watching our three-year-old daughter take her first steps would bring such genuine pride and joy.
We never dreamed that our three-year-old daughter’s incessant need to rock would build compassion into her big siblings. Instead of judging her or making fun of her, they are proud to help her find ways to meet her “special needs.”
We never dreamed that our daughter’s lack of interest in us could build loyal—we are never giving up on you—rock-solid, unconditional love for her.
We never dreamed that FINALLY catching our three-year-old daughter’s gaze (even if it’s just for a few sec
onds) could produce the sheer happiness and joy that it does.
We never dreamed that the sound of our “unable to show emotions appropriately” daughter’s belly laugh would make us sob uncontrollably in thanksgiving.
We never dreamed that the unconditional love we feel for our daughter would ALWAYS trump the negative comments and harsh stares.
We never dreamed that the uncertainty of the future potential of our daughter could be covered with an indescribable peace and reassurance from Christ.
Three and a half years ago, we never dreamed of our daughter, Yosie Joy Tkacik, but God did. The child we dreamed of pales in comparison to what God had waiting for us. We are so proud to have her as our daughter!
If you allow God to lead you through this adoption journey, we PROMISE you He will give you the child you never dreamed of, and you will be SO glad.
Blessings,
The Tkaciks
Check out the Tkacik’s family blog, “The Next Tkacik.”
