The least of these
When I was young, I had a really skewed image of adoption. I think this was mainly because of the American “foster” program that just shuffles kids around until they can make decisions on their own. But it was also the result of the only adopted child my age that I knew being sort of a trouble-maker. As the middle, high school, and college years went on, I never thought about adopting children of my own one day. The church never spoke of the need, and society seemed to kind of keep it on a back-burner.
After I met the wonderful girl I now know as my wife, I had a lightbulb moment during a conversation with her. She asked what I thought about adopting children, even internationally. I paused and don’t even remember uttering a clear answer because of everything bouncing around in my mind. You see, I knew I was going to marry this one, and she has had a yearning for adoption since she was quite young. The seed had been planted.
Well, we got married and moved away from home… and over time, we began considering adoption more seriously for the future of our family. Tennessee brought more than a great music scene and freedom. It brought community. And within this community we now call home, adoption runs rampant. The first friends we made here are in the early stages of adopting a little girl from Vietnam (see the Smith Adoption blog). Good friends of ours in the church adopted a newborn boy from Texas over a year ago (see Aaron and Jamie Ivey’s blogs). The Bush’s also have a deep yearning to adopt in the future. Even one of our pastors adopted a girl a few years ago.
All this to say, you’ll likely see us adopting eventually. It’s all around us. It’s on our hearts and minds. It’s actually something we talk about at dinner and evenings out. There are statistics out there (that I don’t have the time to find) that say if every Christian would adopt an orphan in this world, there would no longer be orphans. Maybe you’ve heard this or maybe not. The fact is that not every Christian is going to adopt. Some non-Christians will. Whatever the case, the Love of Christ is for the least of these, and they will not go unnoticed any longer in my heart. We will act. And every Christian who is able, even if it may be uncomfortable to think about, should be considering it.
What a way to show the Gospel to unbelievers and any biological children you may have!
Bravo, my friend. Lyndsay and I have talked of adopting. Maybe it is something we should consider more seriously. Thank you for posting this and getting me to think about this.
This post gave me chills!! It is so exciting! It is amazing the way we feel God’s hand on this process. Every adoption turn we make or every adoption door we go through, all of our needs are provided! It is also amazing the way we feel surronded by a community of people that we have never known about before. When you and Hannah dedcide to pursue it, we will be right here to walk beside you and support you with our prayers and our actions!
dude! did not know you guys had thoughts of adoption! so good to hear… it will be exciting to see this unfold in the future. we miss you guys.
clay…this is awesome stuff! i’m excited to see what God will do with you and Hannah through all of this. God is really stirring mine and Maris’ heart. who knows what this year will look like! we miss you guys…and look forward to hanging real soon!
Adoption… the word opens a flood of memories. Because of a painfully failed attempt at adopting a sweet boy named Kenny, we decided after 12 years of marriage to have our own son. Your cousin Trey. God used Kenny to soften and change our hearts towards being parents. I am forever grateful that God make sure we didn’t miss out on his greatest blessing for us. Sometimes God just wants to know that our hearts are willing to obey him. We love you both very much and would LOVE being “great” Great Auntie and Uncle!
[...] Apologies in advance, in case one of my future victims reads this. Never mind, screw you people, you probably deserved [...]
Sad, mad, or just bad? « iBastard said this on June 28, 2007 at 10:41 pm