Lucas: A Story of Adoption and Faith

I've really been looking forward to writing this post, because I've followed this story from afar for quite sometime.  This is also a very happy follow-up to my last post--like the babies at Door of Hope, little Lucas was waiting for his forever family. 

Jennifer and Andy Crook are a wonderful couple who were high school sweethearts.  They already already had two children, a boy and a girl, when they began looking into the adoption process.  According to Jennifer, they felt God placed a desire in their hearts to adopt as far back as their high school days. 



The Crooks were drawn to international adoption and chose to go through Lifeline Children's Services in Birmingham, AL.  Lifeline has a great reputation of supporting the communities they work with, and also for helping orphans who are not adopted.  In addition, Lifeline puts their efforts into helping kids with special needs and older children, not just infants.

I asked Jennifer what was she was thinking when she first saw Lucas at the orphanage.  Her response?  "He was my baby."  If you can watch this video without tearing up, this may not be the blog for you:

Lucas James Crook from Jennifer Crook Photography on Vimeo.


I just love this video because it focuses on what life is all about: loving those around you and doing what God has called you to do.  The Crooks are a remarkably inspirational couple to me; young professionals who already had two beautiful children and great careers, who stepped out on a limb to bring another child into their home.  Two and a half years of legal red tape, expense, and the anxiety of waiting, and all I saw in that video was joy and love.

When asked what she learned about God through this experience, Jennifer told me, "adoption is the very heart of who God is.  He longs to bring the broken, the unwanted, into a loving embrace.  He wants to call them His and love them forever."

I want to thank Jennifer and Andy Crook for sharing such a personal story and moving video with me.  I'm looking forward to meeting Lucas very soon!

Do you have an adoption story you'd like to share?  Or a story of following God's call?