To Timothy on Gotcha Day

Dear Timothy,

     Today is the day your adoption became final and official. You are ours and we are yours and nothing will ever change that. You have been ours since we brought you home from the hospital - exactly 20 months and one day ago - but today, a judge gave you our last name and we are overwhelmed.

     There are many things rolling around in my head and heart right now. Things you need to know and things I need to remember. So I'm writing them for both of us, lest we get down the road and the memories fade a bit and we forget some of what God has done for our family. 

     The first thing I want you to know won't come as a shock. Son, you are adopted. ;) We have had numerous people ask if we would tell you - because, amazingly, you look like us. Well, we are telling you for two big reasons. 1) It would take The Truman Show-like effort to keep you from finding out. (Don't worry - we'll explain that reference later.) 2) We want you to know your story. We want you to know how God worked on your behalf and ours to place you in our family and make you a Hostetler.  

     The second thing I want you to know is that you were, are, and always will be wanted. I think a majority of humans go through times of insecurity, but I wonder if those who are adopted maybe experience that more frequently or deeply. So, my son, as you grow older and curious people ask you questions or the enemy whispers doubts in your mind, remember this: you have been wanted and loved since before you were born. Let me tell you a little of that story. Six weeks before you were born, we got your room ready for a little girl. God had other plans for her, though, and she went to a family He had chosen and prepared for her. I didn't understand that at the time and all I could see was a crib in your room, an empty crib. I so desperately wanted a baby to fill that crib and I wept and prayed over it. I reminded God of all the women and families in the Bible He gave children to and I asked Him to do it again. All three of us (and so many others) were praying for you - and you weren't even born yet! When you were born and it became clear you needed a home and a family, THAT DID NOT SURPRISE GOD. He knew you needed a daddy who would wrestle and show you how to be a godly man. He knew you needed a mommy who would snuggle and watch football with you. He knew you needed a sister who would adore you and help you deal with your sarcastic and strange parents. God also knew we needed you. He started preparing a place for you in our family a long time before you were born. He even had a crib ready for you - God is faithful down to the details. And we are thankful beyond measure. 

     Finally (for now), I want you to know that God has a plan and a purpose for you. He made you especially to fulfill that plan. He has already accomplished so much through you. My walk with the Lord has been greatly strengthened through this process of waiting for you and then waiting for the finalization of adoption. Sweet Timothy, you have changed the way I pray and I hope I never forget that. I have seen God do mighty works for you and for us. I won't venture to speak on the behalf of others, but I'm sure I'm not the only one with this story. I don't know what God has for you in the future, but "I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion." (Philippians 1:6) We are watching expectantly to see that work in and through you. 

     So, my dear son, I'm going to close this the only way I know how, with three more things for us to remember. God is good. God is faithful. And His mercies are new every morning. 

     We love you, Timothy! Happy Gotcha Day!