Adoption is a very public affair wrapped in a private cocoon. Often times adoption is evident by differences of race, eye color, height, and personality traits, but hidden beneath the obvious is a myriad of secrets.
For a family to openly share their adoption story, or even their present-day adoption struggles takes courage, the overcoming of fears, and vulnerability. Some stories are filled with the pain of trauma, abandonment, illness, and countless hurdles toward healing.
I believe we are meant to be in families. I believe our birth families are the best family, but unfortunately, not all children get the best. But they are also not forgotten, unloved or unwanted. We are not made to be lonely. Adoption is one of God’s redemptive plans to heal what’s been broken.
A father to the fatherless, […] God sets the lonely in families.
Psalm 68:5-6
As God ushers us into his spiritual family with grace and open arms by calling us sons and daughters, he simultaneously desires to make heaven present on earth by setting all peoples in families. As we know, families come in as many varieties as Jelly Belly jelly beans. That’s the beauty of God taking something broken by the world and restoring it to life. It comes out colorful, messy, mismatched, awkward, filled with surprises, and radiating a love we often fail to understand. We are all part of an adoption story in some way.
Adopting a child is not for the faint of heart, nor is parenting. I openly confess I am not one who is quick to encourage everyone and anyone to adopt, so that is not my intention. But I have asked you to wander with me in life’s twists and turns and our adoption story took me for a roller coaster of a ride.
I’ve written our story for ChinaSource, an online publication connecting China’s church with the rest of the world and vice versa. I wanted to share that journey with you. There are five posts in total, the first two are linked below. The following three will be posted each consecutive Monday on chinasource.org. I will also include the next three as a link in upcoming blog posts.
These stories make our family vulnerable in many ways, but in the theme of letting our ordinary lives be extraordinarily glorifying to our Father, I am taking the risk and hope you will do the same in your life.
For those who’ve adopted, lost a child or just live the day-in-day-out with children, may it encourage you to share your story with all its joys and pains to the glory of God. You are always welcome to share with me.
Join me and others as we walk along the wandering way by subscribing at the bottom of the website.
If you’d like to share your adoption story, family-life story, or your story of loneliness, please let me know.
Image Credit: Sue; friend, artist, and contributor
