Meet Chris

Friends, I have some exciting (and surprising) news, but it requires a bit of a back story. This one is not about cancer, a job loss, a house fire, or anything of that nature. So, please, just hang in there with me as you read.

While in Colorado this summer, a few of you may remember my Facebook post saying that I lost my phone on top of a mountain in Colorado. It was the most bizarre mishap because I knew I had it one minute and the next it was just gone. We backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. Yet, there was single man driving the same area we were 4-wheeling and we learned that he saw it laying openly in the road.  He picked it up and drove past our group twice, but Instead of asking us if the phone was ours he took it home with him. We were the only people together on the mountain that day.

Billy, the kids and I drove a few hours toward Steamboat Springs and even before we arrived at our hotel the man had contacted friends in Arkansas and family in Colorado working hard to return the phone to its owner. Although he lived on the opposite side of the mountain he found a friend driving to Steamboat Springs the next day and he would hand deliver it to us in perfect condition.  I was without my phone for less than 24 hours after losing it randomly in the vast open wilderness with zero cell service. You’ll understand the significance of this as the story evolves.

My husband, son, daughter and I had been camping with my parents and sister’s family for a few days so everyone needed a shower at the hotel.  I went last and by the time I got to bed everyone was already asleep.  My shower had woke me up so I picked up Billy’s phone and began to download the Facebook app so that I could entertain myself for a bit.  See, Billy has a Facebook account, but I am the only one that ever checks it. I’d been giving him a hard time about this, so after downloading I began to clean up his notifications, as I’ve done several times over the years. There were several Facebook messages unread so it prompted me to download Facebook messenger as well.  When I did this, a message stood out to me.  It was from a familiar name. A woman I knew Billy had dated before we ever met. The first few words showing were what pushed me to read the message.  It said…Oh my gosh, your son….

During this 24 hour period without my phone, we learned that there was a child that had been adopted. His biological mother began looking for him after his 18^th birthday.  When she met him she realized that she had been wrong about his father because he looked and acted so much like Billy.  Billy and I looked at the pictures she sent and we could not deny the resemblance either.  Together we decided to pay for a DNA test to be certain and contacted the young man, now 20, and living in South Texas.  Because Billy is never on Facebook, the message I found was a year old already and we certainly caught this young man off guard. 

The DNA test was 99.99999% a positive match. As you can imagine, this was shocking and overwhelming news for all involved, but we are so very thankful that God chose this perfect time for us to meet our new son. We would like you to meet the newest member of our family, Christopher. 

Chris’ past brings him to us knowing and loving Jesus. Knowing suffering, but also joy. Understanding how to work hard with confidence in his skills. He loves to laugh and be around family. He is handsome and funny. He’s helpful and easy to love. His past has made him who he is today and we are thankful to all of those who positively invested in him. Chris is living with us right now so that we can spend time together and get to know each other better as a family. Isaiah and Alyssa love having a big brother, especially one that can drive! J 

In everything Billy & I have been through together we have learned that our life is not our own. We are called to live the life that God ordains us and we believe that He is with us all in this new adventure as He always has been.   He kept Billy (and I) away from Facebook Messenger for over a year, but then took my phone away for just long enough for us to find the truth.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  Billy grieves the time that he lost with His son and realizes his pain is the result of past sins. Yet, God is the ultimate giver of grace and forgiveness and we have received nothing short of grace thus far.  Please pray for Chris, his adopted family and our family as we all make this transition to understand and appreciate each other and our various roles in loving each other well.  May God’s name be bigger than any of ours.  May we be faithful to live selfless and surrendered to His will for our lives. May God’s character shine brightly as we wrestle to be good stewards of the story He has entrusted us all with. Amen.

With love, 
The Wrights - Family of FIVE (5) !!!



Chris came from South Texas to support Isaiah at many football games this Fall.