Sometime last year, I noticed the distinct lack of spiritual resources aimed specifically at adopting moms. Oh, there are plenty of self-help books, as well as those that help prepare moms for what to expect. But what I was looking for was something different… something to help encourage them and point them back toward the Prince of Peace when everything around them screamed fear and failure and frustration.

I began to wonder whether a devotional might be the best avenue to explore. (Not just any devotional, but a devotional for adopting moms.) I have experience writing devotionals for Guideposts, so I felt comfortable with that format. Even so, I let the idea simmer for many months without so much as a table of contents or title to speak of.

Then one day this summer I was driving through corn fields somewhere in the sorta-middle of the States, on my way from one adopting family to another, when the thought popped back into my head. I had nothing else to do, so I let it fester a bit and tried to wrap my brain around how it would work.

Eventually, I saw a squirrel.

The radio station had been going in and out as I drove away through various different signal areas. But all of the sudden it came back in loud a clear, and I heard, “Is there a book God has been prompting you to write? What’s stopping you? Quit wasting time…”

I sat up in rapt attention and actually started laughing. “OK, fine!” I conceded.

The next day, I sat in yet another car, in another state, telling another friend about this crazy devotional idea. I was still struggling with how to structure the days and weeks, but she made a comment led to a real “aha” moment. Within two hours, I had blasted out an email to every mom I knew who had adopted. The idea was for the book to support adopting moms, both spiritually and emotionally through the daily readings, and also through our adoption care work since the proceeds of any sales will benefit FIT Nicaragua.

Less than twenty-four hours later, we had a Facebook group with over a dozen moms who wanted to help. Facebook Messenger could barely keep up with all the ideas running back and forth. One mom finally chimed in with, “Wow! I was at work and wondered what the heck was going on because my phone was dinging repeatedly for several hours! Count me in!” Within a week, almost all of the 26 weeks had been spoken for, to give us a devotional targeting the critical first six-months of an adoption.

I was absolutely blown away. It was as if God had been holding back the gates, just waiting for me to say, “Go!” And then once we got started, the mob of fierce moms-of-adopteds (trust me, this is a good thing) was unleashed.

I came up with a sample and suggested we each write five days worth of devotionals centering around a single theme, to constitute one week in the book. I cautioned us against just writing anecdotes and throwing in a few Bible verses. I wanted this book to serve up a main serving of The Word, not just a side dish that might be considered an afterthought.

What has been created thus far is amazing! I absolutely love reading these women’s stories. I love hearing the ways in which God has strengthened and enriched them through adoption. And even though I’m not in the midst of an adoption, I have been so encouraged and blessed by these devotionals.

I can’t wait to share them with the world!

I am currently looking ahead to the publishing phase. I know that is typically the most challenging aspect of any book project, but given how God has provided thus far, I have no doubt He will carry us on to completion (even if that means we end up self-publishing). I’m going to post a few sample devotionals here over the next few days and weeks, to help share my vision. If you like what you read, would you help us pray for this project?

And if someone reading this happens to know someone, who happens to know someone else, who might be able to help us get this into the hands of adopting moms everywhere… could you let me know? I’d say that sounds crazy, but so does God speaking to me through a car radio. 😉