Adoption

If you ever have an opportunity to attend an adoption I highly recommend it! If you ever have the opportunity to adopt...I highly recommend that as well. I have adopted three children so far and each time I'm reminded of and humbled by God's willingness to adopt us as His sons and daughters.

Adoption is a truly wonderful thing even with all the many challenges that can come with it. As adoptive parents we get to experience a piece of God's grace many do not get to experience. We get a little insight into what He may experience as He adopts each one of us into His family. Some children being adopted are cute and cuddly and it's easy to step right into the "forever parent" shoes. Some children are more of a challenge or require lots of extra attention and direction. Stepping into those forever parent shoes might have to be a little more deliberate. Some children can be quite abrasive and go into the whole thing kicking and screaming wishing by some great miracle they could be back with their birth family and they have no trouble letting you know how much they DON'T want you and that you will never measure up. In those instances the forever parent shoes may have to be duct taped into place to keep them from falling off as we're kicked in the shins repetedly:) They come to us with physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual challenges that were not of our doing. Yet, we love them as our own. We're in it for the long haul. We accept them as they are where they are whether sweet and cuddly or prickly all over (they may be as much for our salvation as we are for theirs). We provide for them and pledge to keep those forever parent shoes on no matter what (even when they try to pull them off with their own hands)!

When God accepts us into His family some of us are cute and cuddly, some abrasive and some downright awful. At first we may be so thankful for His rescue and cling to Him like we'll never let go. But, inevitably, we do let go. Sometimes we stay close and sometimes we stray or long for that "birth family" of sin. We step over to that "greener grass" convincing ourselves that somehow we can do it without our adoptive Father. Each time we stray God welcomes us back. He accepts our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual deficiences and offers healing and a forever home. He never gives up on us and never turns us out. He never introduces us as some sort of subspecies or evil step child. He pledged with His blood to be our Father for all eternity.

A friend of mine adopted a young lady who had lots and lots of hurts in her life. Each of the daughters (bio & adopted) received a beautiful teacup with roses on it. She told them that they were precious roses and roses grow well in her guarden. One day this adopted daughter threw her teacup on the floor and smashed it to bits. Days later the daughter was sorry and my friend presented her with another teacup. This precious daughter took the cup but told her adoptive mother that she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't break this one at some point. This amazing woman looked at her daughter and opened a drawer filled with rose teacups and replied "I told you, roses grow well in my garden."

We are the roses in God's garden, we are the thorns fashioned into His crown and we are the ones He has chosen to adopt and call His own.

Praise God for His Mercy