Words by Sabrina Schlabach
One event can shift the course of our lives. Good or bad. Ready or not. For Joe and Devon Hudgens, that moment came when someone close to them, who was pregnant, realized the baby would have Down syndrome. Despite Devon’s attempts to reach out and counsel, constant prayers, and offer of adoption, the mother decided to abort the baby. Devon struggled through a very traumatic and difficult time because of that devastating decision. But, as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20, and she can now see that God knew what was going to happen; how He used that experience to plant a seed in her heart. A seed of adoption.
While this seed was being planted, the Hudgens were reading a book with their church called Dangerous Prayers by Craig Groeschel. The book was challenging them to step outside of their comfort zone. “Our life is not our own. If I can die to self and ask God to search my heart, break my heart, and say send me... That’s a scary prayer,” said Devon. “But that’s what we prayed. If God is calling you to something, He will provide. He’s proven that over and over.”
This mindset got them thinking. “If we were willing to adopt that one baby, why can’t we do this for someone else?” shared Devon. Joe added, “We felt like things were stacked against us. We’re old–well, not that old, but we’re not 25, and we can’t afford it. But what did Jesus really mean when He said, ‘I came to give you life and give it more abundantly’? It’s not comfort that can be found in the things of the world because that will let us down. The abundant life is the life lived for Christ.” So, they began praying, trusting God with taking the next step, and He was opening doors.
The Hudgens were accepted by Nightlight Christian Adoptions on October 21, 2020–one day before their future son was born! It took a while to go through the paperwork and home study process, but eventually, they connected with NDSAN (National Down Syndrome Adoption Network) and moved further along the adoption path. Every time Joe and Devon felt unsure, God would send another sign that they were on the right path. And, in May of 2021, their profile was ready to be shown to potential families.
“Our original plan was to adopt a baby. That’s where our hearts were, but we determined that we would say yes to every child, no matter the medical diagnosis,” Devon said. “God would handle the details.” In the mounting anticipation, Devon sent an email to NDSAN asking how often they see “not-so-young” couples get chosen. The response? Few and far between. “My heart seized for a moment. I shouldn’t have sent the email–only because the answer discouraged me,” shared Devon. “But then I reminded myself that it’s okay. God led us to this.” God was indeed handling the details. Within one week, they had their first presentation of a baby. Within a month, they were presented with five babies and said yes to all of them.
In June, Joe and Devon were matched with Jack, an 8-month-old boy with Down syndrome. And in July they were scheduled to meet the birth father. About two weeks before they were scheduled to meet, the Hudgens were on their annual camping trip when Devon began having terrible pain in her neck and jaw. While having pain at times wasn’t new to Devon–who has a diagnosis of non-terminal multiple sclerosis–this was a new one. And it didn’t just go away. It was causing numbness that affected her speech and her mouth began to droop. As the meeting loomed ahead, Devon cried out to God, asking and trusting Him to get her through this meeting and that the father would see whatever he needed to see. Again, God came through in a miraculous way. Not only did the meeting go well, but an hour afterward they received the call that the father wanted to continue moving forward with the adoption. “God is so good,” said Devon.
Less than a month later, in August, Joe and Devon welcomed Jack into their family. Although he was 10 months old, Jack behaved like a newborn and had some very serious health issues. His head would jerk back and forth, so the Hudgens braced his head to protect him. “Most of the time Jack just laid there,” said Devon. “He didn’t respond to lights or our faces. It was so scary, and I feared that he was blind too.” Thankfully, Jack wasn’t blind, but he was diagnosed with Infantile Spasms. The spasms were caused by a combination of slow brain waves and high electrical activity.
Because Jack was so young, they had to inject his ACTH Steroid medication. “It was awful,” said Devon. “The needles were huge and looked like they’d go right through his bones.” The shots were given twice a day and caused swelling and heightened blood pressure. A second round of treatment was prescribed, but they only made it about halfway through before they had to stop. Devon said, “Jack’s blood pressure went alarmingly high. It was a hard, hard time.” Thankfully though, the recent EEG tests have shown much improvement, and he’s stopped having spasms.
As of April 2023, Jack is a little over two years old. Even though he’s still only at the level of a 10-month-old, he’s doing really well. Jack is a happy little guy that loves to smile and laugh. He can scoot toward Joe and Devon, and he can sit up. Jack loves his splash pad, his rattle, and music. “When Jack is upset, I’ll start singing to him, and he immediately calms down,” shared Devon. He also loves to eat–and he’s not picky! He will eat whatever the rest of the family is eating.
A crucial part of success is community. The Hudgens feel so blessed by the people around them and their church family. They literally had forty people show up to Jack’s adoption hearing. “Community has absolutely made this possible. You can’t do it alone,” said Devon. “Knowing that people think of you, care for you, and pray for you is vital.”
One of the lessons the Hudgens have learned is to not be afraid to pray those dangerous prayers and step out in faith once they feel the Lord’s calling. It’s like stepping off a cliff–not in a bad way–into a new adventure, knowing that God is directing every step of the journey. “Looking back,” said Devon, “we were happy with our family of three. Our other son is a teenager, and we were ready to move into the next phase of life. We didn’t know we were missing Jack. Now there’s four of us and we couldn’t imagine life without him.”
