The Whole Truth

I am going to do my best to keep this short and to the point. The problem is that I love story telling and that usually lends to many descriptive words. My wife is always asking me to cut the fat. So here goes my lean, mean rendition. 

When my daughter was born 12 years ago my wife suffered several complications during birth. I vividly remember the MD entering our hospital room after an emergency c-section to tell me my wife had a 30% chance and my daughter only  a 10% chance of living through the night. I don't know what came over this scrawny 23 yr old man, I truthfully looked about 17, maybe 15 at the time. But I stood up from my chair and looked the MD in the eyes and said "they will live and not die." By the next morning my daughter miraculously excreted the fluid that had filled her lungs and my wife began to show signs of improvement. 

Needless to say, we were in no rush to run into pregnancy again. And btw, my wife was the worst pregnant woman ever! She did not have any kind of glow like they say. She had more of a scowl! She was sick morning, noon, and night! Her gynecologist said she would prob have the same type of experience if she ever got pregnant again. And us being young, with a 3 pound 10 ounce premature girl made the decision to cut, burn, and tie her tubes.

Fast forward 7 years to when my daughter first started having the dreams. You see, our daughter has always had a special bond with Papa God. I contribute it to those many weeks  she spent in the ICU. We drew comfort from the Father knowing that while we couldn't hold and nurture her, He was. 

We had just moved to Kansas City MO to attend the International House Of Prayer. My daughters time in KC was forever impacting, and in this heavy Spiritual environment she began dreaming. It was always the same dream, she would have to rescue 3 little boys. Theywere always different scenarios, but each time there was one baby boy she would pull from danger. She continued to have these dreams over the next three years. We had already moved to Knoxville TN when she had her most significant one. She saw the three boys, the baby boy was drowning in a creek. She could see a young girl her same age on the other side of the creek. My daughter began to yell for her to help. The young girl just stood motionless. My daughter then reached into the water and rescued the baby. 

My daughter Sofia began begging us to adopt. I remember telling her at the beginning that our lives are perfect and her mother and I have the perfect daughter. I explained that bc we only have one child we could give her everything she wanted. What I didn't know was that she REALLY wanted her brothers and she was quietly interceding in private for her family to grow. 

3 years later her prayers were answered. God had spent time softening our hearts to the idea of adoption. I can't tell you any exact moment when we changed our minds. I think it was mainly observing the abundance of love and fun of two large families; the Paul's and the Craig's. We began realizing the joy and fulness children bring, and we started to trust the Spirits leading. We enrolled in Child Help as an adoptive home and the rest started happening so fast. We told our case worker we would only take up to three in a sibling group and they had to be under the age of 5. 

I had to constantly assure my daughter that we may not get 3 little boys. We may get a little girl, and I silently did my own private intercession for less then 3! The very first call we got after being qualified was for 3 little boys; ages 4, 3, and 1!  We were beside ourselves! And even after the caseworker adamantly warned us that these boys were WILD! We knew, wild or not, they were ours! It wasn't until the boys were in our home for 6 months that we uncovered another piece to Sofia's dream. The boys had a sister the same age as Sofia. She lived in a separate home. Just like the young girl across the creek!

We were so thankful for these dreams! The foster care system can be shaky ground filled with success and great disappointment. Case workers were constantly trying to prepare us for the worst. Out of a genuine and kind heart they would tell us to not get our hopes up, the boys could possibly go back to the parents. But it was to late, we were filled with hope. Our daughters dreams were proof enough that God was in the middle of all this craziness. We knew without a doubt in our heart that these boys were destined to become Ketterer's. They were in fact our sons.

At first we were so naive, and what I've found out is that naivety for the most part is a blessing. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. And let me assure you, it was a battle at times. There were times it got down and dirty. Our children were in the balance, and only a parent can understand what that means. But we were always filled with strength. Heaven was ever present. Many have said to me, "I don't know how you do it, I would be so afraid of getting attached to a child then losing them." My response is always that we will never choose to love when loss is not a potential! What I'm about to say may sound harsh, but i hope you hear my heart in it. The word of God doesn't tell us to love the orphan if it feels good, it simply says in James 1:27 that the purest form of religion is taking care of the orphans. This is what every christian is called to and if you rise to the call you will be filled with strength, love, and anything else you need. I know this from experience. 

Well, I told you I was going to trim the fat, and for the most part I did. Thanks for sticking with me :) My  wife just said "good job babe, short and to the point😉!"