WHAT WOULD YOUR FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT SAY?
/
Libby and Isaac Wendland are two of the most inspirational people I have had the honor of knowing. I went to college at in Lynchburg, VA at Liberty University with them, and I knew Isaac through my time running Cross Country and track there my freshman year. He and Libby were school grade crushes, and they married right out of college. Their love for each other and for the Lord is fierce, strong, deep, passionate, humble, and always seeking to bring glory to the Lord, not themselves. Isaac is now the Assistant Track and Field Coach at Liberty University, and Libby is a teacher in the surrounding area.
After a few years of being married, they started trying to have their own child. Month after month, and year after year, that sweet baby never came and they never got that positive test. They finally sought out a doctor to understand why it was not happening for them, and they were told it would be very difficult for them to have their own children naturally. It had always been their dream to be parents, and they were just broken when they found out that news. One day, traveling back from a trip, they were sitting in the airport. They were in a deep valley season on this hard road to parenthood, and they sat together in the airport to just cry out to the Lord. Right after they prayed, a little girl came running up to them, and she just brought them so much joy. Little did they know that they would be seated right next to this little family on the airplane. During the plane ride, Libby looked over at the mom of that little girl, and simply asked ‘Where did she get her big brown eyes from?’ The mom answered that she was not biologically theirs, but that their daughter was actually adopted.
After that conversation, Libby and Isaac began to have their hearts softened towards adoption. They began to do research on different ways to adopt around the world, and ultimately, the Thailand program tugged at their hearts, and made the most sense for their season of life with all of the Thai rules and regulations. They finally got their acceptance letter into the Thailand program, and it was the best day of their lives. They started a campaign called ‘Miles to Eden’, and after 2.5 years, they finally brought their daughter, Eden Hazel Wendland, HOME.
As their family grew, they knew they wanted to have a strong family mission statement to have as the center of their home to always be able to come back to when life got hard, or they were faced with challenges. When Libby reached out to me, I was honored, as this piece is truly a keepsake that will be passed down for generations to come of the legacy they hope to leave to their family, and to their daughter Eden, of what their family mission statement is. Friends, words MATTER. The words we hang in our home are important and the words we see everyday have the power to CHANGE our everyday.
To hear their sweet hearts, and learn more about their story, please watch the video below from their ‘Miles to Eden’ journey, and how they were finally able to bring home this little girl with the help of the body of Christ.
Click the Photo to watch the Wendland’s ‘Miles to Eden’ story.
“The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Read their full mission statement and see an up close of the hand calligraphed keepsake below:
WENDLAND FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT
VI XXVII MMIX
Seek His Kingdom
Love God, Love people
Experiences over things
When they go low, we go high
Be in the world, but not of it
Kindness changes everything
We can do hard things
We go to the ends of the earth for each other
CHALLENGE: What would YOUR family mission statement say if you hung one in your home? I would be honored to calligraph this keepsake piece for you to hang intentionally in your home so that every single person who walks through your doors knows exactly what your family’s mission is.
Sweet blessings,
