The Realities of Adoption

We received news earlier this week that we will know for sure about approval by July 7th! Very exciting!!

I  haven't posted in a while. There has been a lot going on- but very little of which I've known how to share. We are coming to the real part of adoption now. The part where all of your fluffy, dreamy ideas and thoughts become a fading mist- and it becomes time to make some hard decisions. It becomes time to put our feet to the faith we preach. It is a very stretching process to walk through what we have over the last 14 months- but I'm finding out, none of that compares to the desperate prayer and faith required to choose your child.

Our agency works with the Peruvian Priority Adoptions list. A list of somewhere around 400 kids. You view the list, and look into the files of children. All of the months leading  up to viewing this list were filled with anticipation. The truth is- it is a very hard thing to view this list of kids. Most of the children on the list are older, have rather severe special needs, or are part of a sibling group.
 I have found that, shamefully, even in Christianity, adoption can be viewed as shopping for a car. Most people only want the healthiest, youngest, and most "beautiful" and perfect children. Somehow, I believe that mindset is totally missing the point and the very heart of God. Unfortunalty, no one usually thinks that God would call them to adopt the "least" of the "least of these", or maybe even to adopt at all. (People are called to minister in different ways- yes.) Why? Because it requires a level of surrender most of us willingly preach, but very rarely position ourselves to live in. Looking back over the last year, I cannot begin to express how much our personal borders, expectations, and hopes have been altered. We began the adoption process with the ideal of adopting a healthy, Peruvian baby girl in mind. (Something we didn't know was a virtual impossibility at the time.) We only knew God had called us to Peru. Shortly after that, God began to soften our hearts. What if the child He had for us wasn't a baby? Were we willing? What if He had two children for us? Were we willing? What if they had a health condition or were considered special needs? Were we willing?

 An adoptive mom who I have followed via blog world, and fellow believer posted this quote on her blog, It really hit home with me. Borrowed from her blog: Derek Loux, (who was killed in a car accident on his way back home from a human trafficing conference) said this about adoption. "My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him." Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him! Part of faith is believing God to work miracles, things His word clearly says He will do- even when it seems hopeless to the world.

Please pray for us as we surrender to whatever the Lord calls us to. Please pray that we will walk out the plans He has for us. They're going to be amazing- they're going to be wonderful- and we are beyond excited about them. As I've said many times over- His works of art are so much more beautiful than the ones I can dream up. When we surrender, we are the ones who are blessed.  This type lifestyle defies everything the world thinks can cause joy and peace. That's why it's a miracle to behold;  for the one walking it, and the one watching it.