Mathematical Equation

I suppose I should begin at the beginning and end at the end, right?  The husband and I have been discussing adoption our entire 3 years of marriage.  I've always felt called to adopt, and once I began talking about it he and I prayed and he said he felt it was the right path for us too.  Hallelujah!  I thanked God for convincing him so I didn't have to!  

The most common response we get when we talk about it to others are questions about why we don't just "have one of our own."  First, we believe that God has intended us for adoption, that there will be a child out there that is our own.  Second, nope, as far as we know we don't have any reproductive issues, thank-you-very-much-for-asking!  (and yes, there are nosy people out there!)  People close to us have been supportive when we've talked about it in a someday far off sort of way.  But every time we put it off, God draws us right back to the thought.  And after speaking to the husband about how I felt that by ignoring it we were being stubborn, willful, and disobedient it opened up the conversation about "Why not now?"  And sure, if you think hard enough you can come up with a billion different excuses, but in the end I think "There is a child out there waiting for me to get with the program."  

There are 147 million orphans in the world.   Wow.  So many it's nearly overwhelming.  Well, we both like math, loved the slogan some other adoptive parents were using of "Minus One" and since it was a calling we felt in our hearts we decided we were "Called To Subtract."

So this is the beginning.  This is the moment we say "Yes, we're willing."  We're researching, looking into different countries, agencies, and cost.  We've made a list of ways to cut corners on our spending so that more money flows into our "Minus One" fund.  And we're preparing our hearts for a journey of a lifetime.  Thank you for joining us.