Why We Adopted

            I stood on a table, arms stretched up hanging curtains. My husband came in and sat down in the chair next to the table I was on. His face was serious and I could tell he was concerned about something. He said he felt like the Lord had been telling him something for a year, but he was afraid to tell me because he didn’t want me to ‘freak out.’  Don’t freak out. Whatever he says don’t freak out, I told myself.

            He said every time he read his Bible, listened to a sermon or a Bible teaching tape he felt the Lord saying we should adopt two more children. I stepped back in shock, not sure I had heard correctly. With arms still up in the air I wobbled the table and almost fell off backwards. “What?” I asked.  He repeated his words as I climbed off the table, giving him my full attention now.

            We never talked about adoption. God already blessed us with a girl and a boy, and I had to have a hysterectomy after our son was born. We thought our family was complete. Although, I always dreamed of having four children, after the hysterectomy I gave up that dream.

            My heart raced with excitement. Two more children? I was thrilled beyond words, ready to fly to the nearest orphanage and bring more children home. Calm down. Don’t freak out. I kept repeating in my mind.

            Wanting to be one hundred percent sure he had heard the Lord correctly, we agreed to pray about it for thirty days. We prayed. We discussed. We talked to our kids about the possibility and they were excited. We felt confirmation that this was what He wanted us to do.

            As only God can do, He was already working out the circumstances and the timing of what would happen next. One of our neighbors recently opened a Christian adoption agency. She came over and told us all the steps involved in the adoption process, and there was plenty to do. First, there was a home study that needed to be done. We had to have physicals to prove we were healthy. We had to show copies of our taxes to prove our income. A social worker came and interviewed each member of our family. There were files of paperwork to complete.

            We were excited and nervous. We did not know what we were getting into, only the strong impression that God was leading us to adopt two more children.

            We turned to the Bible. What did the Bible say about adoption? We were surprised to find the concept and practice of adoption throughout the Bible.

            Moses was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.   (Exodus 2)

            Rachel, Jacob’s wife, adopted her maidservant’s son, Dan.  (Genesis 30:6,7)

            Ruth was adopted by her mother in law, Naomi.  (Ruth 3:16-18)

            Esther was adopted by her uncle.  (Esther 2:7)

            Jesus was adopted by his earthly father, Joseph.  (Matthew 13:55)

            And most importantly, we, as Believers, have been adopted.

          

            Ephesians 1:5 says: 

“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing 
us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, 
and it gave Him great pleasure.”

  Adoption is a miraculous event. Join me here each day in October for the roller coaster ride of  ups and downs and loop de loops of heartache, love and  blessing in

                                                            Our Adoption Adventure.