Happy National Adoption Day
I am the type of person who moves through life with caution. I want to be sure that the decisions we make are well thought out, and typically feel safe. I usually don't make a move, until I hear God shout at me...
And even though I naturally lean this way, God always seems to quietly weave dreams into my heart, that challenge my comfort and sometimes don't make sense.
That's what adoption was for me.
Our adoption journey was, to date, the most amazing and spiritually intense experience of my life. I felt deeply close to God throughout the process. Just the other day, I was reading through my journal from that time: I couldn't believe all of the things I felt and learned. Moments of deep grief, when God would close one door, followed by moments of great anticipation for what God was about to do, mixed in with moments of real chaos and fear. Truly, a roller coaster of a journey, that kept me very close to God.
I think these are the kind of moments we should chase in life.
And then, unlike a lot of stories in our life, our adoption story ended, and we got to see the different pieces of the journey come together and make perfect sense. God was writing a beautiful, redemptive story, and He was perfectly piecing together our family here on earth. There is nothing more satisfying to our soul, than being able to look back and see that both the pain and joy had great purpose in our life.
We trust God deeper because it is almost as if we could see His thought process.
Yesterday was National Adoption Day. There is so much to celebrate, and at the same time, so much work to be done. I feel the tension...
My friend shared this quote the other day.
"We need to err on the side of action because we tend to default to negligence. So many won't do anything unless they hear a voice from heaven telling them precisely what to do. Why not default to action until you hear a voice from heaven telling you to wait? For example, why not assume you should adopt unless you hear a voice telling you not to? Wouldn't that seem more biblical since God has told us that true religion is to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27)?" -Francis Chan
So let's not wait for God to shout at us. We have a great opportunity to bring hope and love to children. God can use you and in the process your life will be deeply changed.
Thank you God for sweet Parker. We can't imagine our life without him. Thank you God for Parker's birthparents. They are so courageous. Thank you God for including us in this story. We're incredibly blessed.
