I am new to Lifeline. My name is Maegan Schwindling and I work in the Central Alabama area. I wanted to take a minute and share how I became involved with Lifeline and adoption. Several years ago before I even graduated high school, I was very involved at a church in Decatur, Alabama. I was discipled weekly by my youth minister’s wife, Melissa. One day, Melissa shared with me that she and Gabe would be traveling to the Ukraine to adopt a young boy. Initially, this idea was very foreign to me. Gabe and Melissa traveled several months later and came home with two boys, Steven and Thomas.
Over the next several months after they returned home, it was so neat to see how the boys adapted and became apart of a forever family. After Gabe and Melissa adopted, my friend Paige decided to travel to China to adopt. Paige and Brandon adopted a young girl named Grace. Grace quickly became apart of our family. Her grandparents lived several hours away so my parents became like grandparents to her. She can still to this day get anything she wants from my mother . In both of these cases, these children were quiet, timid, withdrawn, and scared when they arrived in Ameri
ca. Yet, over the years God has allowed them to become their own little people and to develop true personalities. It is hard to believe that the little Grace who didn’t speak when we first met is the same person who did not stop talking at our recent dinner. God has divine plans for children all over the world. He knew that Steven, Thomas, and Grace would be exactly where they are…that was His plan from the beginning. God has called me to be apart of the process to help other children come home to the parents God has for them here in America. Recently, I was in church and a soloist sang “Orphans of God” this precious song always brings tears to my eyes as I think about the divine plan he has for each of our lives. The song states several times that “there are no orphans of God”. Nothing surprises Him, He knows when we will have pain, happiness, suffering, and joy. The number of orphans here in America and oversees can be overwhelming to comprehend. I have to think of Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you declared the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”. This verse is meant for every person that the Lord created, and it does not exclude orphans. God has a supernatural plan that we will never comprehend. We are simply called to have faith! God is using Lifeline in a supernatural way, and I pray that he will continue to allow us to be a catalyst to join orphans with forever families.
Maegan Schwindling
Central Alabama Case Worker
Over the next several months after they returned home, it was so neat to see how the boys adapted and became apart of a forever family. After Gabe and Melissa adopted, my friend Paige decided to travel to China to adopt. Paige and Brandon adopted a young girl named Grace. Grace quickly became apart of our family. Her grandparents lived several hours away so my parents became like grandparents to her. She can still to this day get anything she wants from my mother . In both of these cases, these children were quiet, timid, withdrawn, and scared when they arrived in America. Yet, over the years God has allowed them to become their own little people and to develop true personalities. It is hard to believe that the little Grace who didn’t speak when we first met is the same person who did not stop talking at our recent dinner. God has divine plans for children all over the world. He knew that Steven, Thomas, and Grace would be exactly where they are…that was His plan from the beginning. God has called me to be apart of the process to help other children come home to the parents God has for them here in America. Recently, I was in church and a soloist sang “Orphans of God” this precious song always brings tears to my eyes as I think about the divine plan he has for each of our lives. The song states several times that “there are no orphans of God”. Nothing surprises Him, He knows when we will have pain, happiness, suffering, and joy. The number of orphans here in America and oversees can be overwhelming to comprehend. I have to think of Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you declared the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”. This verse is meant for every person that the Lord created, and it does not exclude orphans. God has a supernatural plan that we will never comprehend. We are simply called to have faith! God is using Lifeline in a supernatural way, and I pray that he will continue to allow us to be a catalyst to join orphans with forever families.Maegan Schwindling
Central Alabama Case Worker
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