Stories of YES #30 - The Shift of "What if"

"The doubts are real. And I think we had every one of them...
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*What if it’s too much?
*What if her needs are more than we can handle?
*What if we can’t afford it?
*What if it negatively affects the children we already have?
*What if we don’t have time for one more child?
*What if she doesn’t attach to us?
*What if she needs to live with us forever?
*What if we never have time for us?
*What if it’s too hard?
*Are we equipped for this??
*Can we do this??
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But then one day my husband said to me, “But what if we don’t listen to God’s call?” At that moment, the questions didn’t go away, but they changed...
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*What if this little girl never gets to know what it means to be a part of a family?
*What if she never has someone to tuck her in at night, to hold her and to tell her about Jesus?
*What if she never gets to hear someone tell her she is beautiful, wonderfully made and so very loved?
*What if our children never get to experience the joy of having a sister with Down Syndrome?
*What if we miss out on the chance to take a leap of faith and let God change us?
*What if we trust the God that told us to do this, to carry us through?
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After having Annie in our arms for a year, sometimes one question still lingers in my mind - what if we hadn’t said yes? And I look at this little girl - my daughter - and I cannot even IMAGINE our world without her now."

- Joy Pollock