Everyone who has experienced the miracle of Hudson is no stranger to all the heartache that we trudged through, as we navigated the path to him. There were so many mountains and valleys that at times we doubted if we would ever see the end. If it wasn’t for our strength in The Lord we never would have made it past road block number one. He strengthened us at each stop, curve, bump, detour, and speed bump along the way. When I look back at the journey I don’t feel sadness or despair. God replaced all that with love and thankfulness. I can’t deny though that I was more tested during this time than at any other time in my life, and some horrible things happened to us. We can’t pretend it was all sunshine and roses, or it takes away from the beauty of the story. It would take away from all the good God did from the ugly.
I don’t know if I could choose the “most horrible” thing that happened. Those kinds of life changing events can’t really be compared. Each had it’s own individual stamp and affected us differently. I will admit that when someone asks about the troubles along the way the adoption scam is the first thing that comes to my mind. It’s not always in my thoughts, and there are times that it doesn’t cross my mind at all. I think what makes it different than the other things is that is was planned evil. The failed adoption and other hurts weren’t intentional. They just happened. This was different. The woman who manipulated and lied to us CHOSE to do what she did. She knowingly and willingly preyed on us at a vulnerable time in a very deliberate way. She had an objective, and she would do whatever it took to meet that objective. We all know that nothing she did stopped Hudson from coming to us, and she had no power over God’s plan for us…. but it did hurt. Deeply.
It’s been almost 2 years, and during that time a lot has happened in the life of Davanna Dotson. Thanks to a detective that truly cared about the hurts she inflicted, federal charges were placed against her. This detective fought against her being released on bond, because she knew what she would do…. and she was right. The one and only time Davanna was released from custody she was scamming adoptive couples within 24 hours. A little hardheaded much? It just goes to show that she still believes that she is above all… she believes that she can have whatever she wants… I think she actually believed that she was smart enough to get away with it again. Thank goodness she was wrong. She was stopped, praise God. There is comfort in knowing that she’s in a place where she can no longer prey on adoptive parents…that she can’t hurt all the children and other people who are also affected. It needs to stay that way.
Davanna ended up pleading guilty. It may have been the mounds of evidence they had against her, or maybe she thought that if she just admitted to it and said she’s “sorry” that they would just let her go. I can’t stand by and watch that happen. The sentencing hearing for Davanna is on July 25, and there’s a chance that I will be able to go and testify as a victim. Words can’t explain how badly I want to do this. I believe that God would let me speak with power and conviction and show the judge how her actions affected not only Andrew and me but our children… our friends and family… all of you who read this story and ached for us. I believe that the words I say could convince the judge that she needs to be put away for a long time… that was she did was serious. It really has nothing to do with the money she took from people. Money can be replaced. It was what she TOOK from people emotionally. Praise God that Andrew and I were strong enough in Him to move forward. How many were not? How many victims are out there that were too embarrassed to admit to what happened to them? How many people don’t know there were tons of other families that this happened to? That it wasn’t just them? How many people lost hope in humanity? How many people were forever changed by what she did? I know that I can’t fix what happened or heal any of these people. Only Jesus can do that. I do pray that I am given the chance to show the judge that she can’t be given the chance to do this again, and that she needs to pay for her crime.
There is so much more I want and need to say about this, and this post is already longer than I intended. I will write more later. I feel like I need to document the rest of this journey. It’s so easy to forget all the things God does for us, and I know He will show Himself in this. I want to remember it all to share with Hudson and others who need to hear it. I won’t know until Monday if I’m going to be allowed to testify. I’m praying that God’s will be done and not my wants. If He wants me to go then I pray He paves the way. Until then I’m just going to live and trust.
There’s a whole other part of this that I have to write about later, and that’s the love and forgiveness I feel for Davanna. There’s so much I WANT for her to have, and that can be summed up in Jesus. I’ll write more about that later, because it’s a very important piece to this puzzle. Until then please pray for those who make the decision about those who testify, and pray for God to build me up and have me ready for battle. I know that He will take care of it all. He has so far, and I know He won’t leave me now.
I love you guys,
Lou
