Beverly Ozinga works for ECFA in our Post Legal Adoption Services. She has been with ECFA since 1981 and is herself an adoptive mother through ECFA.
Her story unfolds over time as God worked in her heart and in her life through the years. Bev knew about ECFA since she was a young girl. She grew up on the southwest suburbs of Chicago, and her church regularly supported ECFA (which was at the time located in southwest Chicago). Bev recalls how she had an awareness that there were children out there who did not have parents, and to her this was appalling and very sad.
Because of the compassionate heart God had given her, Bev grew up and eventually earned her Master’s in Social Work through the University of Philadelphia. After she graduated, she made the pivotal choice to work at ECFA versus accepting a job on the East Coast, desiring to be near her family in the Midwest. God evidently orchestrated this event, as it ultimately led her to adopting her two daughters.
At the time, ECFA had a foster care program, and Bev learned about two little girls who were ECFA’s care. God was working in Bev’s heart, and she recalls the support from her co-worker, Barb, who encouraged her to consider taking these children into her home. Bev was single and nearing her 40’s, and she knew that it was an appropriate time for her to consider committing to these girls. She continuously asked God for wisdom and for Him to close the door if this wasn’t His Will for her. Everything worked out, and she was able to take them into her home in 1993 when they were in 1st and 2nd grade, and in 1997 officially adopted them
Bev shares that “Over and over again, despite the hurdles of parenting, I’ve seen God provide. Even if the journey does not go the way you think it should, God is always at work.” Now both of her girls are grown, and Bev is enjoying the fruits of grandparenthood. In the picture on the left, she and her granddaughter, Zoe, are in Bev’s kitchen cooking. Bev shares that Zoe and her other grandchildren are a joy, and that Zoe loves to go to Grandma’s house.
It is a blessing to not only sense the Lord’s direction to adopt, but also to follow through with His leading. Though we often let fear and uncertainty interrupt God’s guiding hand, we know that when we do take the step of faith to trust Him, though not always easy, He will provide for all of our needs.