I could say a lot more on adoption, but this is a good start! :)
Article 3
The 3rd part of this four part series is about the hard truths in adoption.
I would like to start with a verse that I read during a trial when we were adopting Mo.
1 Peter 4:12-13 A
Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through... Instead, be very glad-for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering...
Before I dive into this verse let me start off with some very hard and tough truths in adoption.
Truth # 1- Most of us FEAR adoption; we fear the unknowns in adoption. You see our biological children do not typically start off their lives in loss and tragedy, or experience abuses we here in our safe homes and environment could ever fathom. So there are many of us who may have had the thought to adopt or foster that do not because we let this fear stop us.
Truth # 2- Adoption is sinfully expensive and that alone stops many Christian families from adopting.
Truth #3- My children have suffered huge losses. Loss of their birth family, loss of their culture, loss of their special mom’s who cared for them while we worked to bring them home. EJ wept the entire first night we had her, even in her sleep. She had lost her first mother at birth, and now her foster mother and everything she had known for almost 9 months in a matter of an hour. Our joy in the moment caused her great pain. Our son was malnourished when he came to the orphanage, his first mother had no job, no food, and he was starving to death. He was greatly loved by her and the many special mothers’ at his orphanage, and then came K and I. Who were we to EJ and Mo but another body that may be gone tomorrow?
Truth # 4- When you adopt there are people who will be against you. Perfect Strangers, friends, and yes even family.
Truth # 5- Adoption is a spiritual battle for these children’s lives. The first is stepping out and adopting them, and the second is a battle for our children’s souls. We teach them about God and Jesus, and Satan hates this and does everything he can to stop it.
You see our trials in adoption and with our children as they grow may have times of great suffering but it pails in comparison to the suffering of our Christ and he promises them life. Not life in their identity and where it lies, but life in their identity through him, through his love and saving grace.
Here is another verse to focus on until my final entry next week.
Exodus 22:22
“Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.”
Article 4
The 4th part of this four part series is about God’s calling in our lives.
I have to say that I am extremely passionate about adoption and the orphan, and it is really hard for me to condense all of my passion in order to touch you with something that is a command from God.
A command might seem an odd choice of words to you, but it is in fact a command from God.
James 1:27 states this, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
If you noticed throughout this 4 part series I have quoted various scripture that commands us to care for the least of these. I have intentionally done this.
Now go back to James 1:22
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.”
Did you read that? Do what the word says. Never mistake that God’s heart is for the orphan, the widow, and the lonely and he references them so much in scripture friends. Don’t wait another day. Do what God is telling you to do and care for them.
Adoption is not for the weak, and it is not the easy road, and it certainly is not the solution, or the only way to do what God commands us to do.
When I say it is not for the weak I say this because Satan HATES adoption. He hates that children are being placed in Christian homes and learning about the love and saving grace of our Father. He will do everything he can to stop us from doing such a thing. He will plague us with doubt, and he will bring crazy obstacles along the way, but GOD sees us through and he will bless what he ordains.
Adoption is a calling straight from God and it is not meant for everyone. Supporting families in this call may be how you are to help the orphan, or specifically praying for families adopting, or supporting one of the many organizations out there who do wonderful things for the least of these.
I will end with this. Our family believes we are here for a special purpose and that God has given us all we need to carry out his plans for us. We are all made for so much more than we realize and our hearts have to be ready to fight. Our time on earth is not for rest but it is to battle for the thing God wills us to do to bring glory to him. EJ and Mo are the children the Lord saw fit to bless us with and we cannot wait for what he has next.
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