Right Where I Belong
Mackenzie Johnson grew up in a large family. She is one of 10 siblings, and she is no stranger to the beautiful and hard things about adoption. Her two younger sisters are adopted, and her family fostered many others before them.
“I understood from a young age that for a variety of reasons, not all children get to be raised by the mom and dad who gave life to them, and that wrecked me,” Mackenzie said. “I grew up loving my two sisters but understanding the heartbreak that brought them to us.”
Between her personal experience with foster care and her husband Adam’s job in the dependency system, they were aware of what the journey could bring. Not long after getting married, they began the process to become foster parents. During this time, many children and teens came to live with them, including Criston, who ended up joining their family through adoption.
After the birth of their daughter, Ruth, 7, and their son, Willis, 3, Adam and Mackenzie both felt that their family was full. One day, though, Mackenzie felt the Lord say very clearly to her that they were going to adopt a baby boy, specifically with Down syndrome. After thinking, praying, and researching, Mackenzie brought the idea to Adam.
“I came to Adam and said, ‘So … I feel like the Lord is telling us to adopt a baby boy with Down syndrome,’” Mackenzie said. “He went to the pantry, made an aluminum hat, and put it on my head, and said, ‘I think you’re done talking to God for a little bit.’ I said, ‘What’s this?’ And Adam said, ‘This is a prayer blocker.’”
That conversation kicked off a year of prayer and consideration, especially on Adam’s part.
“I was never really totally closed off to the idea of adoption,” Adam said. “But we came to the decision that I would take a year to come back around and give a final decision from my perspective.”
During that year of waiting, the Lord told Mackenzie that the baby’s name would be Shepherd Love.
“I loved the name Shepherd right away, all the scriptures in the Bible with references to shepherd,” Mackenzie said. “But Love … that’s like one of the biggest words ever.”
The time for a decision was approaching, and Adam described his stance as ambivalent until one day. Adam was listening to a podcast—that had nothing to do with adoption—when a guest came on who was described as a “political figure, missionary, Christian, and adoptive father to his son Shepherd.”
“To me, that was a God wink,” Adam shared. “First off, not many people are named Shepherd in the world and the fact that he would be an adoptive father to [a Shepherd], so when you put all those factors together, that is too much to ignore. So I called Mackenzie and said, ‘I’m in.’”
The family jumped right into preparation, including purchasing all the necessary baby gear and quickly going through the licensing process. The morning of their home study interview, Mackenzie “kicked” Adam and the kids out of the house for a few minutes to center herself—and to keep the house clean—and in this moment, she asked Alexa to play worship music.
“I had never heard this song before, but the song ‘Good Shepherd’ by Joe L Barnes came on,” Mackenzie shared. “And I felt like the Lord himself reached down from heaven and just held me. One of the verses that gets repeated in the chorus is ‘I’m right where I belong.’”
The Johnsons were approved, licensed, and registered on the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network shortly after, but between December 2024 and October 2025, there were 15 “almost yeses.”
“We started to think, Is this even what we’re supposed to be doing? Is there even a need?” Mackenzie said.
Then, on October 1, Adam and Mackenzie were about two hours away from picking up their kids to go on a cruise. The car was packed, the kids were excited, and at that moment, Mackenzie received a call from their case manager. The case manager shared that a baby was born. He was in Arkansas, the Johnsons were chosen, and they asked if they could travel to Arkansas to pick him up that day. They decided Mackenzie would travel to Arkansas, and Adam would take the kids on the cruise.
“I took my bags out, repacked, and got a ridiculously expensive flight for the same day,” Mackenzie said. “They told us that Shepherd was ready for discharge. I was thinking he’s waiting for me to pick him up, and I’ll go pick him up and bring him home.”
It became apparent very quickly Shepherd was not ready for discharge, and Mackenzie and Adam spent nine weeks total in Arkansas. Among his many medical needs, Shepherd is fully ventilator and feeding tube dependent. The Johnsons were then facing a whole new set of medical complexities and quickly learned the advocacy and work needed to even get him out of the hospital and home.
Before they learned about receiving a Show Hope Adoption Aid grant, the Johnsons were attempting to figure out the financial logistics of paying for nine weeks of hotels and rental cars, on top of normal adoption costs. Mackenzie connected with other adoptive moms through the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network, who recommended they apply for a Show Hope Adoption Aid grant. When they were notified about receiving a grant, they described it as “very special.”
“That was one of those things where it was like, We’re gonna be OK … this is possible … this is doable,” Adam recalled.
“As the one who was reserved and playing it safe, now, I just see there is an army of people out there who are invisible to you, and there is no reason to let finances stop you,” Adam continued. “That just really demolished some of those old fears. I would tell anyone who wants to [adopt] and feels called to do it, ‘There are people in the world who will make a way for you.’”
Both Adam and Mackenzie now count supporters of Show Hope as part of their village. Before leaving Arkansas, Adam and Mackenzie had the chance to spend some time with Shepherd’s birth mom, with whom he shares a special connection—the name Love.
“I wish I could introduce you to Shepherd, so you could see the miracle that he is and know that you brought him to us. You are part of our village,” Mackenzie shared.
“Either we would be in debt, oppressed by that for a while, or we would have liberty to give him love freely without the stress of something hanging over our heads,” Adam added. “Those donors liberate us as parents to love him in a way that is more free.”
Named in memory of Maria Sue Chapman, the youngest daughter of Show Hope Founders Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, Maria’s Miracle Fund supports the growing impact of our Medical Care grants work.
With a gift to Maria’s Miracle Fund, you have the opportunity to change the day-to-day life of children and families, like the Johnsons, as well as honor the life and legacy of Maria and the Chapman family.
Will you join us and give today?
