the Stallings family

Gil and Jody Stallings discovered that they were unable to have their own biological children. However, that didn’t keep them from wanting to have children. 

We shared the Stallings Family’s story on January 2nd, 2022. This is the written interview of how God showed up in the “waiting” of their journey. The questions we asked Gil and Jody are in bold, with their responses following.

How would describe the waiting of trying to have your own biological children but not being able to? dGil and Jody: The waiting when we initially started trying to have kids was a little anxious, but we did our best to follow the process, doctor’s appointments, procedures, and testing. This kept our mind focused on moving forward and not on what we didn’t have.

What were your prayers like during that time in your life?

Gil and Jody: We prayed often that God would give us the children that we longed for. 

How did the waiting change for you when fostering/adopting became an option?

Gil and Jody: It was the Fall of 2015, when we got the opportunity to host an exchange student from Spain. We assumed this was God’s answer to our prayers, it was the most parent like experience we ever had. We hosted another student the following year. Up until this point, we talked about adoption and even went to a couple of seminars on how to adopt, but nothing ever transpired. July 2016, we were introduced to Isabella and asked if we wanted to take her in. We were also told that she had 3 older sisters. This is when the waiting for children started all over. It took a year to complete foster classes, get a home certification, and have both Kansas and Missouri approve us to have the four girls live with us on a foster care basis. During that year, we were allowed to bring the children to our hold for weekend visits. This helped ease the waiting because we were able to slowly develop a relationship and trust with the children. 

How did your prayers change in the process of trying to make these children your own?

Gil and Jody: Going through foster care classes we learned the goal was reunification. During weekly visitation we got the know the parents and see the love they had for their children. So, we prayed for the outcome of this to be in the best interest of the children. We knew by the end of this process one set of parents were going to end up heartbroken. Once parental rights were terminated, however, all bets were off, and we prayed to make these children ours.

What do you feel you learned during these waiting periods that you couldn’t have learned in any other way?

Gil and Jody: We learned that GOD hears you and he delivers. When, where, who and how, only he knows. Looking back, we were blessed with exchange students so we could learn how to love and care for someone else’s children as our own. We learned compassion for the biological parents and other family members; not everyone in life is given the same opportunities, loving parents, and education. We learned a lot about each other and our parenting styles.

What encouragement do you have for others who are waiting right now?

Gil and Jody: Keep praying and waiting. Find other ways to fill the space and time until your prayers are answered.