Why adopt?

Most people look at us a little funny when we explain to them that we are choosing to adopt before having children by birth. Adoption seems to be very scary to some people and we get lots of interesting questions such as "are you afraid you are not going to love them the same if you do have biological children?".  When I think of this question I think of how God adopted us into His home and loves us more than I can possibly understand. Although these children will enter our home in a different way, they will still be our children that God placed with us. We are beyond thrilled with the idea that we have this great opportunity to bring children in our family and give them an eternal home with Christ.

James 1:27

²⁷Religion 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.

Not everyone is meant or called to adopt, but this verse above really shows that as Christians we are all called to care for orphans and widows. This could mean by adopting, working in orphanages or simply supporting others in your Church to adopt. I believe that verse above should be practiced in every Church, whether by sponsoring adoptions, having adoption bible studies, sending missionaries to other countries, or by praying for those that are adopting.

Kim

The Waiting Game...

Last week we had our last meeting with our adoption worker. We got to read our homestudy and sign off on it and had one last questionaire to complete. Our homestudy was super long, I had no idea there would be so much information written about us. So we are officially approved and are waiting for our match, which could be 1 child or 2 siblings. Our adoption worker told us that she has no idea how long it will take until kids that match us are available for adoption, they seem to be having a slow few months right now, so it could be in a week or it could be in a year.

Dave and I are finally at a point where we feel as ready as we could possibly be. Our marriage is stronger than ever and my work is finally slowing down. Although we feel ready, there is so much uncertainty that we still are pretty scared. We have no idea what sex, what age and history our children will have, so there is no way to prepare for all of that.

Waiting used to be something that drove me crazy, but God has been working in me and has given me a lot of patience. "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the lord" Psalm 27:14. There have been many times in my life where God has shown me that he has great plans and that they are worth waiting for, seeing him work already in my life has made waiting this time so much easier. We have been told by a few social workers that it could take up to a few years to be matched, the first time they told me that I was crushed. I was so upset and told Dave what they had said to me and as soon as I finished telling Dave a sense of calm came over me. I could feel God saying "who do you trust?". The next thing I said to Dave was "It is not going to take that long for us". Over this past month we have felt God preparing us and I have had this overwhelming peace that the time will be soon. A really great song that has inspired me is called "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. I know that His plans are so great that I will find joy in this time and will keep serving until the time comes.

Kim