I'm really not sure where to begin with blogging. If you compared our lives from a year ago til now you wouldn't see much of a difference on the outside, but God has done an amazing work in each of our hearts. Sometime last year Daniel came across a conference featuring adoption. One of his favorite pastor's was going to be speaking... Not to mention one of his favorite musicians!
Since I was young, I have always wanted to adopt. Anybody that knows me knows that I love babies! Daniel and I talked about adoption early on in our relationship...it has always been something we wanted to do. I think we both thought it might come later in our lives but God has had other plans!
We attended the conference excited to learn the nuts and bolts of adoption, thinking that this will all come in handy one day. Well, little did we know that God was beginning something incredible in each of our hearts. The conference was so much more than just "how to adopt and what to expect." We began to hear about the "doctrine of adoption." Something neither one of us had ever really thought about.
Adoption is the best picture we have on earth of what happens with salvation. When we are saved through Jesus Christ we are adopted into the family of God being made joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:12-17). We are saved despite our past, despite our genetics, and despite our family history. We are saved based on our heart condition and the decision we make....the decision to make Jesus Christ Lord over our lives. Once saved, we are immediately welcomed into the family of God. The old is wiped away and the new has come...we are made new creatures in Christ. Through nothing we do, are we saved, but through everything Jesus Christ has done. Our "birth" certificate is changed from being marked in my sin as a child of Satan, to a child of God.
The same goes for an earthly adoption. Once adopted, the child becomes a permanent part of that family...just as if he was born into the family. The child, no matter his background, is welcomed and loved. His old is wiped away...and he is given a new life...a new inheritance. His birth certificate is changed to show the adoptive parents as the birth parents.
Up until this conference we thought that adoption was either for couples who couldn't conceive or for couples who just truly loved children. How wrong we were. The fact is, is that God has called ALL Christians to care for orphans (James 1:27). No, this does not mean He calls every couple to adopt; however, He does call every Christian to care for orphans in some way. Is He asking you to consider adoption? One astounding fact I heard recently said that driving 60 mph seeing 1700 orphans per mile, you would have to drive for 2 months to see all the orphans in the world. The fact is, if we are a pro-life people, we must actively be pro-adoption. With our decision to adopt, people have asked us about our concerns with our child having a different appearance, a different genetic make-up, a different family history altogether. I don't really know how to explain it other than that none of that matters. The fact is, is that he is not just a child...he is our child. Where he came from doesn't matter. For some reason, God has decided to allow us to go on this incredible journey of bringing our family together a little differently than many families. I am so grateful for everything the Lord has taught us over the last year.
We are in the "formal application" stage of our adoption...so the early phase! God has proved to us over and over that He is in control. I can't wait to share about it all, but this entry is long enough for one day! Stay tuned!
