Ep 50: The Journey of Adoption: Kristen Minor

Today’s conversation centers around a personal story about a big life event that requires you to navigate a host of emotions within every member of the family. That life event is adoption, and our hope is that as Kristen Minor shares her story, you will find comfort and wisdom for your own journey. You’ll hear how she and her husband, Matt, came to the decision to adopt through prayer on a trip to Costa Rica, what fears they experienced along the way, and how they found a sense of peace through the realization that God is in control. Kristen tells the story of how they came to meet their child, Gipsy, through donating the proceeds from their worship band’s music to a children’s home in Costa Rica. She gets candid about meeting Gipsy, feeling overwhelmed with fear, and the two signs she saw on the road that confirmed her decision. We touch on the value of community, and Kristen shares what it was like as a mom to witness her child’s grief and heartbreak and the open doors of communication between her and Gipsy, as well as how Kristen’s own experience grieving her brother helped her to walk alongside her daughter. You’ll hear how travel has bonded Kristen, Matt, and Gipsy, and how metalsmithing has become a great mental health space for Kristen. Next, Kristen shares how she was able to still find hope in her brother’s death, the message of hope she wants to give listeners, and how this can only be found in God. We hope you join us to hear Kristen’s story of hope today.

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to Kristen Minor, photographer, metalsmith, wife, and mom in San Antonio.
• How she and her husband chose adoption through prayer on a trip to Costa Rica.
• The fear they experienced going into adopting an older child with a complicated past.
• How the realization that God was in control helped them to overcome fear and say yes.
• The story of how Kristen and Matt met their child, Gipsy, through donating the proceeds from their worship band’s music to a children’s home in Costa Rica.
• A trip to the beach with Gipsy in Costa Rica where Kristen felt kindred with her.
• How Kristen told the story of meeting Gipsy to Matt and how he met her for the first time.
• The process of being approved as eligible parents, and seeing Gipsy’s file.
• The two signs that she saw on the road to San Antonio that confirmed her decision.
• How valuable it is to find people who have been in your shoes.
• What it was like as a mom to witness her child’s grief and heartbreak.
• The open doors of communication, reminding Gipsy that it’s not her fault without villainizing her parents.
• How Kristen’s own experience grieving her brother helped her walk through Gipsy’s grief.
• The sense of gratitude that Gipsy approaches life with.
• How Matt and Kristen’s father built an overland vehicle that the family has traveled with.
• How travel has bonded the family and created lasting lifelong memories.
• How Kristen got into metalsmithing and how it became a great mental health tool.
• How Kristen was able to still find hope in her brother’s death and the message of hope she wants to give listeners, that can only be found in God.
  
  

Tweetables:

“I think parenting in general is quite a scary undertaking if you really look at the truth behind it, but with adoption, with international adoption, you have to be super intentional because it ends up not just being you and your partner; it’s you and this entire adoption agency.” — Kristen Minor [0:03:34]

“The truth is we were flat out scared to move forward with adoption. I think most couples would tell you that. I think that’s the reality behind it.” — Kristen Minor [0:04:46]

“Nothing was too big for Him, and He paved the way. Once we realized that we didn’t have to hold the reigns and have hard knuckles around it, when we gave Him control, a lot of it felt like smooth sailing.” — Kristen Minor [0:23:28]

“It’s a beautiful thing to feel like you’re not the first one that’s ever felt this. That’s not true. There’s tons of you out there. You’ve just got to find your people.” — Kristen Minor [0:25:40]

“I wanted the hardest part of my story to have the potential to be my greatest mission. I prayed that prayer all the time.” — Kristen Minor [0:29:10]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Whale Ok
Whale Ok on Instagram
Bugs on my Face
Mosaics of Mercy