Adoption -- recent thoughts

I know that I have written about my heart for orphans before. But I felt the need to write again. 

This month is National Adoption Month. Churches and organizations all across the country are raising awareness of adoption and the plight of orphans, both Stateside and overseas. There are so many good organizations out there that approach adoption from a Christian standpoint and do everything they can to make sure Christ is represented well in the whole process of bringing a child home to a forever family. My favorite organization is Show Hope, the organization started by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman. You can check them out at www.showhope.com.

Since orphans and adoption are so close to my heart, I have started researching adoption agencies, policies, paperwork, costs, etc. And let me tell you, I am learning alot. However, I recently came across on article that disappointed me a great deal. The author of it painted Christians adopting children from all over the world as doing it only for evangelistic purposes, in order to grow their church numbers and/or increase the church giving (for aiding families in the process of adopting). I don't think that is painting a fair picture of Christian families adopting. Some may have that as a part of it. But I know a lot of families that I have met in my time in Lincoln (as well as my own aunt and great uncle and aunt) who have adopted because they truly believe that God has blessed them in so many different ways that they are able and willing to share those blessings with children who have no other chance, no other family. Yes, they are all Christian. Yes, their adoptive children become Christians and are raised in the Church. But that's not their primary reason for adopting. They adopt because they believe what Psalm 68 says about GOD setting the lonely, the fatherless, in families. For them, it's because they can't imagine their family being complete without all of their children (biological and adoptive). They aren't doing it just to get the numbers up at their Church. They are doing it because they have a truly alive love for the children of the world.

For me, I want to adopt because I had such an amazing experience growing up with my big family, I want to share it with my kids. All 5 of my siblings are biological (many people don't believe me when I tell them about how big my family is, that my siblings are biological and that my parents are still married after nearly 30 years). 5 of my cousins are adopted. But that didn't matter. We are family. Plain and simple. And I know that there are millions of children around the world who don't have any family that they can grow up with. That they can love. They don't have people in their lives that they can call mom and dad. They don't have people they can call brother and sister. And for me, I want to be able to give a little boy or girl (or multiple boys and girls) that family. A forever family. I want to celebrate "Gotcha Day" with them every year, their birthday and Christmas. I want to watch them grow up knowing just how much they are loved by me, my family, my husband, my Church family, and most of all my GOD. Yes, I want them to become Christians. Yes, I want them to live lives committed to Him. But that is not my sole purpose or reasoning behind wanting to adopt. I simply want to open my home, my life, and share it with a child who doesn't have any other home or family.

 p.s. the photo is of a boy named Alejandro whom I met here in Peru. He is an orphan. And if I was married, two years older and had the money (age and marriage status is a big deal when it comes to adoption applications)... I would adopt him and give him a forever family. Not because I want to win another convert to the Christian Church. But because I love him. Because GOD loves him. And because I want to give him the chance to grow up knowing that love. The love of GOD Himself. And the love of family.