The Adoption Journey
Tavis and I have known for quite some time that we would one day like to adopt. It was easy to say that as a newly engaged couple walking hand in hand speaking about the hypothetical future. Well, here we are, almost 9 years later and in the throws of paper work and payments. Many people have asked us why we would adopt when God has given us such beautiful children of "our own." Well, the answer is simply that we feel that God has called us to do just that. There is this unspoken mindset that adoption is a great second option. You know what I mean, "Well, if you can't have kids, then you can always adopt." The truth of the matter though, is that adoption is a great first option!
I teach a 9th grade girls class at our church. I am always trying to get my students to see how God has intentionally set up this world to point us back to him. The more you think about it, the more connections you will see. For example, our earthly father teaches us about our heavenly Father. We have been designed to get hungry for real food, yet Scripture says that we are to crave pure spiritual milk and meat. Just as we live in a world with a judiciary system of lawyers and judges, we think to our eternal judgment in which God will be our Judge and Jesus our advocate. Even the smallest things still point us to the way in which God works. Think of a tree, "I am the vine, you are the branches." How about sickness? While Jesus was healing those with illnesses in the New Testament, He was also demonstrating His ability to heal the sin within us that not only makes us sick, but kills our body and soul. Truly the list could go on and on, but I bring it up to show the connection between an earthly adoption and a spiritual one.
Adoption isn't just a sweet thing to do for a child in need. It's an act that demonstrates and mimics God's love for us. Think of where you were before you God called you into His family. How wonderful was it when you realized that He loved you and was inviting you into a family that would never leave you? It didn't matter who you were or what you had done. He was calling you HIS. He rescued you from your past and gave you hope for a future. In the same way, when you adopt a child you are showing that child God's love. Our precious adopted child will have the same love from us that our other children do. She will have a "forever family" that loves her no matter what. She will be our REAL child just as our first three are our real children as well... (And just as you are a REAL child of God, even though you were adopted.)
We have also had those who have asked us about the cost. They want to know if it is expensive to adopt. Well, yes and no. In a culture in which we waste money on everything, it's hard to say that it is expensive. What could you do to change a life if you would give up some of your everyday "must-have" items? Again, think of the parallel of Christ. What did He give up for you?
We are very excited about what the future holds for our family. We have no idea how long the process will take or what twists and turns we will face along the way, but we have faith that we are on the right path. In the next couple of weeks our homestudy paperwork will be complete, and then we wait. I will try and keep a bit of an update on our blog, although our agency asks that we keep the details vague. Pray with us that the process goes smoothly and that we are able to quickly raise the money needed to get our little one home. Who knows, maybe by this time next year I will be posting a picture of our family of 6!
I teach a 9th grade girls class at our church. I am always trying to get my students to see how God has intentionally set up this world to point us back to him. The more you think about it, the more connections you will see. For example, our earthly father teaches us about our heavenly Father. We have been designed to get hungry for real food, yet Scripture says that we are to crave pure spiritual milk and meat. Just as we live in a world with a judiciary system of lawyers and judges, we think to our eternal judgment in which God will be our Judge and Jesus our advocate. Even the smallest things still point us to the way in which God works. Think of a tree, "I am the vine, you are the branches." How about sickness? While Jesus was healing those with illnesses in the New Testament, He was also demonstrating His ability to heal the sin within us that not only makes us sick, but kills our body and soul. Truly the list could go on and on, but I bring it up to show the connection between an earthly adoption and a spiritual one.
Adoption isn't just a sweet thing to do for a child in need. It's an act that demonstrates and mimics God's love for us. Think of where you were before you God called you into His family. How wonderful was it when you realized that He loved you and was inviting you into a family that would never leave you? It didn't matter who you were or what you had done. He was calling you HIS. He rescued you from your past and gave you hope for a future. In the same way, when you adopt a child you are showing that child God's love. Our precious adopted child will have the same love from us that our other children do. She will have a "forever family" that loves her no matter what. She will be our REAL child just as our first three are our real children as well... (And just as you are a REAL child of God, even though you were adopted.)
We have also had those who have asked us about the cost. They want to know if it is expensive to adopt. Well, yes and no. In a culture in which we waste money on everything, it's hard to say that it is expensive. What could you do to change a life if you would give up some of your everyday "must-have" items? Again, think of the parallel of Christ. What did He give up for you?
We are very excited about what the future holds for our family. We have no idea how long the process will take or what twists and turns we will face along the way, but we have faith that we are on the right path. In the next couple of weeks our homestudy paperwork will be complete, and then we wait. I will try and keep a bit of an update on our blog, although our agency asks that we keep the details vague. Pray with us that the process goes smoothly and that we are able to quickly raise the money needed to get our little one home. Who knows, maybe by this time next year I will be posting a picture of our family of 6!