We are very blessed and excited to announce the finalization of the adoption of our beautiful daughter, Charissa Shalom. Adoption is so unique and special, and each time a child is adopted, that child has a story. Our story is not only a story, but a testimony of God’s grace. So, that is why we chose the name Charissa which means “Grace” and not only was she Adopted on August 18th, 2015, but she was also given a new name. What a blessing! So, what brings us to this amazing day? Let’s go back 14 years ago when she was born, and find out!
At age 20 on May 19th, 2001 I (Tabitha) gave birth to the most precious curly haired mixed baby I had ever laid eyes on. I was a single mom, and I had been living my life apart from God, in sin, leading me to that place of parenthood before I was married. I named her Cheria Janay, and since no dad was there to sign the birth certificate, her last name was my maiden name. She was my joy, my little purse that I carried with me everywhere, from that day on. When Cheria was almost 2 years old, in 2002, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ, and was born again! It was like the lights went on in my heart for the first time. Reading the Bible to me was interesting and exciting, and God had totally changed my heart and life. After becoming a Christian, the desire began to grow, and I wanted a godly husband. A husband who wouldn’t leave us. A husband who loved God and would be a daddy to my precious little girl. As Cheria grew, we would pray together at night, and when she became old enough to know how to pray, she would pray the sweetest prayers, asking God for a daddy. We never realized the magnitude of how deep the Father’s love for us truly was, until He answered our prayers for a godly husband. I also would pray that somehow my husband would have a desire to homeschool our children. God heard her prayers and mine. I was a single mom with Cheria for eight years before God brought Kevin into our lives, and as soon as He did, our lives changed forever in the sweetest and most amazing ways.
During the eight years of my life as a single mom, after I became a Christian, everything changed. I would see God do miracles to provide for us like a husband. It was amazing to see this happen as I surrendered everything to Him, He showed His incredible care for us time and again. He provided me with a home that I could raise her and live on our own. I worked hard at the hospital, even working 12 hour night shifts in the ER, and working and going to school, then becoming a nurse to help provide for this precious little blessing that God had given me. We did not get child support from the dad. I never went to the courts during those years to apply for any child support when I was a single mother. God was our provider.
He provided in ways that were amazing and incredible. It was a struggle, just like many single moms go through, but to see God clearly display His grace to us, was beyond my comprehension, and was totally supernatural many times. I remember praying with the pastors at my church for things, and then just like that, God would provide it. I had need of a car and went down one Sunday for prayer, and the pastor that I prayed with just happened to see a car on his way to church for $500 dollars, and he told me about it after we prayed. I went to the location with $350 dollars in my pocket, offered what I had, and it was enough. God blessed me with a Honda Accord (only problem was a broken window) for $350 dollars!!! This is just one of the many testimonies like this, where God proved to be a husband to me, a father to the fatherless, for my daughter.
There were men who were interested in having a relationship with me, but I was always so amazed how as I would seek the Lord, God would shut the doors, and in 2008, when Kevin shared that God had me on his heart, I knew this was the open door from God. I had grown to respect this precious man from our time together on an evangelism team, and I knew beyond any doubt, that this was God’s hand, bringing me this amazing godly man whom I could never deserve, to be the husband and father that we had prayed for. We were married just 2 months after he shared his heart with me. There was no need to wait. He had been such a dear and treasured friend to me for nearly 4 years, and if I respected and cared for any brother in the Lord, it was my beloved Kevin, above any other man I had ever known on this earth. He kept me pure for marriage and showed me the purest and most humble love that I had ever known. A love straight from Jesus. It was on our honeymoon that we conceived our daughter, Faith Hope, who was born exactly 9 months after we were married. It was this pure and holy love that has been the flame in our marriage ever since that time. There was no missed beat. Kevin was Cheria’s father from the day we were married. She received him and loved him and embraced him as her “Pa” and the daddy that she had prayed for.
August 18th, 2015 finalization of Charissa’s Adoption where she was given her new name
After Kevin and I were married, we had this grand idea that if a father and a mother have a child together, they name that child together, right? So, what about naming our daughter together?! We prayed about giving her a bible name, something close to her given birth name, but something that represented her life. What about “GRACE”? Or the name “CHARIS” which means “GRACE?” We tried Charis for about a day, and it just didn’t flow very good. So, I said, “What about Charissa?!” We we asked Cheria what she thought about this idea, and she loved it! It was exciting for her to have a new name. She was so proud of her name. Charissa Shalom (Grace, Peace). The name stuck. We began calling her by her new name even though it had not been legally changed yet.
Several years went by and we had begun the process of adoption for Kevin to legally adopt Cheria (Charissa). We felt strongly that we needed to confirm her adoption legally, even though it had already been affirmed in our hearts. It took a while to find her birth father and get the paperwork all set for the adoption to take place. Finally after lots of looking and work on behalf of our amazing attorney, we found him, and he willingly signed over parental rights. He had not been involved in her life for 10 plus years, so it was not a big deal for him to sign these papers to recognize Kevin as her father, the one who has loved her and provided for her for all the years that we have been married.
On August 18th, 2015, Cheria Janay became Charissa Shalom Lovell on paper, our legal daughter, the daughter who prayed with me for a daddy for several years before God brought Kevin, the answer to our prayers, to be her father. He is such an amazing father. She loves him so much, and on her adoption day, in the courtroom before judges, court staff, family, and attorneys, she announced her love for her father, and also her love for God and how He brought our family to be together. She testified to the work of God. Oh, and how can I forget to share about Charissa’s salvation testimony!?! Our marriage has also brought Charissa to a place of giving her life to Jesus Christ on December 8th, 2013. She is born again now, and all of the prayers and seeds that her father and I have sown into her life, are coming to fruition, seeing her as a godly young lady.
Charissa is a wonderful young lady. She loves to cook, bake, read, sew, and she loves little children. She loves God’s Word most of all, and lives her life as a Christian. Charissa is an avid reader and can read large books in a day or two! She is homeschooled, and is growing a love for math. She even brought her pre-algebra math book to the adoption day to be reading from it and learning. She loves to learn. She also loves History. She can tell you so much about the history of our country if you ask her. Her love for learning is inspiring. We are so blessed at how God has knit our family together. We give Him all the praise for our beautiful daughter, and for this adoption of Kevin becoming a father to her, not just in our hearts, but legally, officially, and finally. What God has recognized for all these years, now is legally recognized by man. Hallelujah!!
Oh, and one of the highlights of our day, was that on the car on the way back from our celebration together, we stopped to pray for Charissa’s birth father, and prayed for him to come to know and understand God’s love in the deepest way, that he would be surrendering his life to God’s will and following Jesus. It is our desire that Charissa’s birth father would understand Adoption in the deepest way, being adopted by the Father.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” -Ephesians 1:3-6
Everything for the Adoption was final on August 18th, 2015
When helping my customers with their large groups traveling together internationally, I like to recommend a few helpful tips for the journey. The one thing that I always say is plan for the worst and HOPE for the best when it comes to large groups. 