What is my part?

Hello friends!

Today I thought I would take one of your questions and share my thoughts with you. Over the coming weeks, I plan to get through all of your questions including a few other commonly asked ones.

Please remember that these are just my opinions. I am NOT the expert, no sir-ree, but I'm happy to share! Please feel free to agree or disagree with my "answers" or ask any follow up questions.

Here we go:

Anonymous said...
If you have a heart for adoption how do you know what your part in adoption is? Meaning are you supposed to adopt because you have a heart for it or just support other financially and through prayer?

This is such a good one!

I struggled a lot with this at first. "How do we KNOW for sure that we are supposed to adopt?" For us, the desire that God placed in our hearts was a huge confirmation that He was calling us to this.

I would often ask Clint (at the beginning) what if we make the wrong decision? What if we want to adopt but it's not what God wants?

To Clint it was much more cut and dried. (Praise God for my "steady eddie" hubby!) He would say something like "God says it's a good thing. And if he's given us this desire to adopt, then we should step forward. It's really not a matter of making the wrong decision.

And let me clarify, we specifically felt a desire to adopt as opposed to just helping the orphan in some way. Prior to that, I was very fearful about adoption and did not want to adopt at all. So the fact that God changed me so completely was a big deal.

I think it is important to take a number of factors into consideration. For one, you and your spouse need to be on the same page. (I plan to go into more detail regarding that topic later...)

Also-examine your heart. Do you feel a desire to adopt or do you just have a heart for adoption in general?

I believe that God calls all of us to care for the orphan is some way. James 1:27 says "Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans..."

But there are so many ways to care. Giving financially to help a family bring their child home, sponsoring a child, being a foster parent, taking mission trips, praying, etc. There are many ways to put a loving arm around the fatherless.

How you care is a deeply personal decision. Ask the Lord for guidance, direction, and a passion to do His will. His desire is to draw you closer to Him and He will lead you!

I believe it's also important to seek the counsel of trusted believers and friends but remember, ultimately this decision is between you, your spouse, and God.

Sometimes, God asks us to do things that don't make sense from the outside. But He is so much bigger than us and His ways are so much better!

At the beginning of our walk down the road called Adoption, I had a lot of fears and questions, but gently God led me by the hand and continued to affirm the decision we were making.

I am now a proud Mommy to my son Hudson! I look into his big dark eyes and know that though we don't look alike and though he wasn't born from my belly, he is MINE. And I cannot express to you how blessed I am because of him!

God is faithful and He will lead you according to His will. He often asks us to step out of our comfort zones and follow Him! Whether you adopt or not, if you choose to care for the fatherless, you will be incredibly blessed!