Why adopt?

Why adopt?

We have three beautiful biological children and, although our needs are met by our current income, we do not have an excess of income where we can add members to our family without some sacrifices. So then why are we adopting? We could go on forever, but for the sake of blog space we’ll narrow it down (as much as possible) to these few points:

1. There is a need.

There is an immense global need to care for orphaned children. These two blog entries offer good discussions of the number of orphans: http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=74 & http://abandoned-orphaned.typepad.com/paulmyhill/2009/08/the-count.html

Ultimately, whether it’s 145 million, 15 million, or 40-50 million, there is no denying the need is great. And while it is easy to be overwhelmed and paralyzed into inaction by the immensity of the need, we must remember that ultimately these are not numbers we are talking about, they are individual boys and girls created and valuable by their very existence just like you and me. And even if there were only 1 orphan, is the need any less from the perspective of that child?

2. We are generally called to respond to the need.

We understand from the Bible that we have a general obligation to care for orphans (James 1:27). This general call to take care of “the least of these” as part of “true religion” is repeated in a number of ways throughout the Bible. And, even if you don’t profess to live according to the Bible, certainly most ascribe to the “Golden Rule”. Put yourself in the place of an orphan. How would you want to be treated?

This quote from Richard Stearns (President of World Vision and author of The Hole in Our Gospel) should give us pause:
"I believe that this could very well be looked back on as the sin of our generation. I look at my parents and ask, where were they during the civil rights movement? I look at my grandparents and ask, what were they doing when the holocaust in Europe was occurring with regard to the Jews, and why didn't they speak up? And when we think of our great, great, great-grandparents, we think how could they have sat by and allowed slavery to exist? And I believe that our children and their children, 40 or 50 years from now, are going to ask me, what did you do while 40 million children became orphans in Africa?"

3. God has worked on our hearts over a number of years to respond to the need in a specific way.

"The need is not the call but the occasion for the call... There are far more needs in the church than any of us has time or energy to meet, and no one is required to try to relieve them all. Nonetheless, God's call to service will be a call to meet some human need or other." -- J.I. Packer paraphrasing Oswald Chambers

This answer is a little more difficult to “put a finger on” so to speak, but we believe adoption is the human need God is calling us to meet at this time.

At some level, we have each always had a heart for needy children and God has continued to tug at our hearts over many years to welcome an orphan into our lives. We have sponsored children through World Vision for a number of years and have each thought that adoption might be a good idea some day. Over the past couple of years we have come into contact with more and more adoptive families. As we witnessed a number of fellow church members and close friends go through the adoption process, we began to question: “Why not us?” and “Why not now?”

If we had to point to one “tipping point” when we began to prayerfully ask God to begin to lead us as to whether or not to begin the adoption process, it would probably be when we attended the Naomi’s Fund (more info in following blogs) celebration in the Fall of 2008. Seeing the fruition of God’s work in families we knew, and the challenge given by Dr. Russell Moore (more on him later too) of letting adoption in the natural be a testimony of God’s spiritual adoption of each of us served as a call to action in our lives.

4. God has generally provided us the ability to meet the need.

We believe God has equipped us (through a process of continual education and improvement) to be good parents and provide a loving home to our three children – and more. We also have a child friendly immediate and extended family that embrace and value children. God has also provided to meet our physical needs and even through our adoption process our faith has grown that He will provide in order to complete the work He has set in motion. Will it be a sacrifice? Yes, definitely financially, and most likely emotionally and physically as well. Is it worth it? We believe obedience to God is always worth it, and we eagerly anticipate the joy of two more children being added to our family.

5. We love because he first loved us.

Ultimately, we love because he first loved us. (I John 4:10-11, 19) We have a heart for the orphan because God sought us out as spiritual orphans and welcomed us into his forever family. (Gal. 4:4-7) Out of gratitude for what He has done for us, and to be a tangible example of His love, we want to share His love with a child in need.