Love Grows Love

The promise of the Holy Spirit comes to us in the 14th chapter of John.  Jesus tells his disciples that He won't leave them as orphans, but He will come to them.  The Holy Spirit is that seal that secures our adoption into the family of God.  Halellujah!  We have a new name and are welcomed into relationship to and with God our heavenly Father through adoption! 

We hope to do this on a physical level for a child by giving them our name and sealing them as our forever family through adoption. 
I believe that I was born with the "adoption gene."  There's probably not actually a gene for adoption in all my 20,000 some-odd genes, but I'd like to think there is.  I have wanted to adopt since I was a little bitty girl and was always drawn to brown skin tones.  My mom and dad can tell you that even when choosing baby dolls to play with in my early years, I tended toward babies with skin tones unlike my own (my skin is very white for those of you reading who don't know me).  What's very funny to me and a little ironic is Ana Beth's love for babies...babies who don't look like her.  She LOVES babies...anything to do with babies!  The first baby she chose for herself on a shopping trip to Ikea last year was an African looking baby with dark brown skin and black curly hair.  Her choice opened my heart to the thought that maybe someone was missing from our family.  It may very well be someone with darker skin than mine in a country I didn't grow up in.  I started praying.  My heart was broken and longing for someone to join us in our home as our third child.

Ana Beth loving on her babies

After that, and an eye-opening trip to Ghana, Africa; I finally realized how large our home was and was even more broken about all the space in our home for just the four of us.  I enlisted some friends to pray with me.  I prayed through many different things.  Giving.  Fostering.  Adoption.
And, adoption is where I landed.

So, we are pursuing international adoption.

The first critical question I've heard through this "testing the water" phase is, "There are plenty of children who need to be adopted in the United States.  Why do you want to spend even more money to adopt a child from another country?"
Let me quickly answer this question before I move on into the excitement I am feeling today.
1. Orphans in third-world countries do not receive the same medical care as children in the U.S.
2. Orphans in third-world countries do not get the same access to education as children in the U.S.
3. Orphans in third-world countries don't get the nutrition they need to grow into healthy adults with long life-expectancies like orphans do in the U.S.
4. Because of these factors and many more, girl orphans in third-world countries will most probably become prostitutes at young ages after aging-out of orphanages. And, boy orphans will be working difficult hard labor jobs that are risky and will eventually be the factor in having a short life expectancy.
These are just a few reasons we are considering international adoption for our family.

I am not saying any of these things to guilt anyone into adopting a child from anywhere.  I am just telling you that there is a need for more adoptive parents in the U.S.  And, Aaron and I plan on being just one of these couples who will step up and meet this growing need.
It's okay not to have this gene.  But, ignoring adoption isn't an option for a Christian.  Prayer is the first step to doing what James says in his book of the Bible, "looking after orphans & widows in their distress..."  Even, if praying is all you do and that's all God calls you to do, that's doing the will of God. If you are called to give, or foster, or adopt, DO it!

Will you, our people, support us as we walk through this journey of adoption?  It may take a long time.  It will, most assuredly, cost a lot; physically, monetarily, spiritually, and emotionally. But, will you be with us-praying for us and encouraging us along the way?

Yes, I have fears and doubts.  I think that's natural and normal.  I felt the same way before I gave birth to our natural children.  But, for today, I will be excited!  There is a journey ahead for us!  Many friends have blazed a clear trail that we can follow and will!
I'm most excited because, I'm not alone in this.  I have Aaron.  I have my girls (who want a brother, BADLY!).  And, I have the Lord who knows this chapter and the next and the next, because He is the author of this story.  I'll wait for the page to turn by His hand.