JOY… Jesus, Others, You.
This acronym embodies the story of our adoption. We always had to put it in Jesus’ hands, others’ hands (the birth family’s) to decide if we were the right fit for their child, and to learn it wasn’t all about us (you).
Our story started in 2006 when we found out we could not have children of our own.
Through a lot of prayer, we decided adoption was the route God wanted us to take to become parents.
As we explored the adoption process, we realized that financially it wasn’t going to happen right away. So we waited and continued to enjoy our life as a married couple.
In 2009, we connected with an adoption agency. We thought it would be a quick and simple process. We thought we would be chosen to be parents in no time.
As we found out, the child God had chosen for us wouldn’t come very quickly or easily. We had many birth parents interested in us, but we were not the right fit for them. Many times, we questioned if we were even meant to be parents or if our profile showed us as being “too Catholic.”
Our faith was challenged this whole time, and there was little joy in our lives. Why was God choosing others to be parents and not us?
Fast-forward to the summer of 2011. We both looked at each other and said, “It’s been two years. We can’t handle any more disappointments, so let’s just stop this whole process and live our lives as just the two of us.”
On Sept. 8, 2011 — Sandra’s birthday and the feast of the birth of Mary, the mother of God — we found out that a birth mom was interested in us. We decided if this is the baby that God has planned for us, then we would continue.
Two weeks later, we met the birth mother, and before we even sat down, she asked us to be her son’s parents. The baby boy was due Jan. 2. Now the true waiting began.
As any other parents, we prepared for the upcoming joy we were about to receive. On the night of Dec. 22, we got a phone call that our baby boy was about to be born. We headed up the freeway from Olympia to Everett, and it felt like the longest journey — thinking about the journey that Mary had to travel on the road to Bethlehem. Our bundle of joy, our Christmas gift from God, was born in the early morning of Dec. 23.
Because we were able to put Jesus first (most of the time) in our adoption process, the birth parents second, and our selfish thoughts last, we have been blessed with the greatest Christmas gift ever, the gift of JOY our son, Colin, brings to us each and every day.
Sandra and Brent Quebedeaux are members of St. Michael Parish in Olympia.
Northwest Catholic - December 2023/January 2024