Kate's TV Debut

A few weeks ago I posted to Facebook looking for an adoption support group of some sort. We had just started the 5^th year of our adoption journey, and as we continued our lengthy wait I was looking for a more established support system. Several friends suggested we try a group at the Church of Brookhills, and so, on April 10^th we decided to visit. 

It was a small turnout that night, and we were blessed with enough time to really share our adoption story with the 3 couples that were there. As I recounted the difficulties and delays again, and felt all the emotions that come with the waiting one more time – something incredible happened.

I had a vision. (Some of you may think that’s crazy, but hear me out.) God gave me a flash in my mind – a memory actually – and an explanation of what He wanted to tell me through it – all in an instant.

He reminded me of a moment on our trip to Switzerland this Fall (a 5 day long layover we took on our way to Africa for work). There was an evening there when we were taking photos of a historic church, and began to hear the most beautiful music. We instantly stopped what we were doing and followed the sound – around the church… down the alley… down the block… across the street… and finally into an open air building on the corner where two exceptionally talented men were playing a violin and drum.

These two musicians were amazing. There was a small crowd gathered already, but the longer they played, the more it grew. I was captivated by their music. We listened for the longest time… even taking video clips to share with friends around the world. What a gift! An unexpected concert! It’s a fond memory.

As I thought about it all, God spoke very clearly. He said...

“Ericka… if those musicians had only played one song, you wouldn’t have had time to find them. Few people would have heard them. Very few people would have been able to enjoy the beauty of their music. But because they played song after song, there was time for a crowd to gather. Many people enjoyed their show – even people around the world who saw your video!  

This is true too for your adoption. I’m taking my time to gather a crowd to watch a show that will bring me glory.”

WOW.  What do you say to that? I told Rusty about it immediately, and shared it a few weeks later with my brother and sister-in-law. I told them, “I think God’s up to something big”.

Well friends… let me tell you what happened when we announced the wonderful news that we were MATCHED!

We had more than 1,000 people respond to the news (988 on my initial Facebook post alone!) on social media and my blog. Almost 2,000 people have read that blog post. We've gotten some of the sweetest calls and texts over the last few weeks, as well as congratulations in person! We’ve gotten gifts through the mail for Kate from dear friends in Kansas, North Carolina, and Georgia (and have been told there are others on the way). We've gotten messages from friends (and strangers) all over the world - from Botswana to Swaziland, South Africa, Thailand, India, Ukraine, Canada, China, and Hong Kong (just to name a few!) It is humbling to see how many people have been praying for us and our daughter, and following our story over the past 4+ years! 

Just seeing that response alone was enough for me to believe that He is “gathering a crowd”… but then something else happened that blew me away. The day we announced our news, we were contacted by a friend of mine who is a producer at a local TV station. I opened her message to read, “We want to do a story on you!”

And so, within a few days, the Fox 6 car was at our house, and a sweet reporter named Lydia was interviewing us. And before we knew it, our adoption story was being shared live on Fox 6 WBRC, and on the Fox 6 blog (with a link to our blog!) And then it was picked up by their sister station in Montgomery, WSFA!

“I’m gathering a crowd to watch a show that will bring Me glory…”

Baby Kate's Story on WBRC Fox 6 from Rusty Jackson on Vimeo.

I guess sometimes God is really literal. I never guessed the “show” would actually be on TV! Of course we think it's neat that our little girl's arrival in our lives was considered "news" here in Birmingham - because it certainly is BIG news to us! This is just one more way we can show her how special she is someday. 

We couldn't embed the clip from the website, but Rusty was able to use his camera and video it on our TV. You can watch his video of the clip above, or click through here to watch it on the Fox 6 site and to read the article.

We shared so much in our interview that of course didn’t make the cut (they only have so much time, and it’s hard to share 4 years in only 2 minutes!) but I hope that our segment did bring God glory… and more than anything, I’m praying that somewhere out there, someone was watching who’s been wondering if they should adopt. I hope our story showed them that these children are worth the wait (because they certainly are!)

We’ve been blessed to see God’s hand, once again, so evidently in our adoption. I’m so grateful that He speaks to our hearts, and that He is faithful to fulfill His promises! I can't wait to see what's next in this "show" He is putting on!