I’m Sarah Stewart. This is how my family and I are living deeply.

“Somehow it’s only been 15 months since Mary Mitchell –our Shugie- went home to Jesus, yet it feels like a lifetime since I last saw or held her. I’m longing more than ever for the day when all the sad things come untrue- when I’ll see her run to me calling, ‘Mama.’ I ache for that day. But until then, we will fight to live deeply while still finding joy. Mitch, Reynolds, and I have learned to live life carrying rhythms of both joy and sorrow. By God’s grace and mercy we continue to put one foot in front of the other and make the next healthy decision. It’s through Shugie’s story -her life and her death- that we’ve decided to grow our family through adoption. The night MM went to be with Jesus, Reynolds told me he didn’t want to be an only child. He recently said he misses wearing matching pajamas with her and wants to do that again with another little sister. My boys and I have so much love to give, and we long to love another little girl. Shugie loved babies, and we’re confident she’d love to be a big sister. We’re now active with Faithful Adoption Consultants, and we’re looking to adopt a newborn baby girl domestically. We’re home-study approved w/ a profile book and parent letter ready to go. We continue to receive cases and put our ‘yes’ on the table when one is a potential fit. We trust the Lord to pave the way if He chooses to write another baby girl into our story, but we’ve yet to find a match. Recently we’ve been told the majority of today’s adoptions are through social media and word of mouth, so we’ve been encouraged to let our community know and to spread the word. We know and trust that God makes beautiful things from ashes- that He brings life from death and joy from sorrow. MM’s sweet life has shown us this. We trust God will continue to bring good from her life, her death, and her story. Maybe bringing another baby girl into our lives will be part of that. But if not, we continue to know He is still good.” @hopeforshug

We invite you to share this post. Perhaps God will even use your ‘share’ to bring the Stewarts their new baby girl. And please join us in prayer for this family.