Written by my daughter, Sarah for her adoption support group. It conveys such an encouraging and challenging message, I asked to post it as a SW.
It’s been almost ten weeks since Tim and I met our 5-year-old daughter for the first time, and we can’t imagine life without her already! For years we talked about adoption, but never acted on it. Verses like James 1:27 lingered in our hearts, Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Yet – we always found a reason not to move forward (not enough money, work is too busy, our current kids are too young, etc., etc.). Time was slipping past us. Last year, the Lord convicted our hearts that the only thing that was stopping us was fear… fear of the process, fear of the unknown, fear of finances. But – fear is not of the Lord. We put fear aside, said yes! After that decision, the Lord put everything in place to for us to bring home our amazing daughter. Today marks two months we have been home from China…a surprise journey that we never thought would happen. She is such a brave and loving girl, and we are humbled the Lord has allowed us to be part of her journey!
A 30 year old orphan, who aged out of an orphanage where he had lived his whole life said this at the CAFO Summit 2013 (Christian Alliance for Orphans) “When I grew up in the orphanage it was Christians who came and built nicer buildings. Christians who bought us beds, clothing and provided money monthly for food. It was a Christian, who wrote a letter in a shoebox, who first told me I was loved. It was the Christians who met all my physical and material needs in that orphanage. But it was also Christians who neglected my biggest need. Children in orphanages don’t need more money, nicer buildings or better clothes. I am not an orphan because I lost my home or provisions. I am an orphan because I lost my parents. I needed a mom and a dad. I needed a family. Christians treated all my temporary symptoms of need but never cured my long-term disease of being orphan. I am still an orphan.”
Still freshly home, only 2 months (still in the honeymoon phase – I know), learning more and more about each other… Can it be hard somedays – absolutely! It can be hard and messy! But – oh so worth it!!! Why socks in 100 degree outside temps? Even though all can look well on the outside, trauma can show itself in interesting ways… we keep the house a bit cooler than in the past and we can bundle her up when she sleeps. She thankfully doesn’t scratch herself when awake anymore, but her anxiety with past medical trauma on top of the adoption, loss, and grief shows itself while she sleeps. Baby steps & big socks!
We are so thankful that God gave us the courage not to let fear stand in the way and to say “yes”!!! We could have missed this amazing little lady, and life just wouldn’t be the same without her in our family! Each day we learn more about trust, family and love. We are constantly being refined & taught in ways we need to be refined and taught! Christ is also using this journey to teach us more about our adoption into Christ’s family… and it can be so humbling!
Not everyone is called to adopt…but if your heart is stirring in that direction – don’t fight it. It’s not something to fear!! If you are not called to adopt – there are so many ways to help others. Help families adopting through prayers and tangibly (with funds to help the process, meal trains when home, etc.), help the young expectant mother that just needs support to be able to stand on her own two feet so there is one less child without a family to start with, support the many Unadopted programs for the many (MANY!) orphans that are not legally eligible for adoption, help by being a foster family or help give them respite, etc. So many ways to help, but don’t let fear be one of the reasons you don’t help. (And read James 1).
Jas 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. v23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; v24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. v25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does . . . v27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Put feet to your faith. Become an effectual doer not a forgetful hearer.