I know without a doubt that some of you reading this right now feel a tug at your hearts. I know without a doubt that some of you are being called by God to bring a child into your family. Please don't ignore the call. Please don't give in to the kind of thinking that says "it's not my problem". Friends, if you are a follower of Christ; if you call yourself by His name; if you are part of His church, then please know . . . it is OUR problem. All through Scripture God reveals His heart for the orphan. "Defend the weak and the fatherless", it says in Psalm 82. It is not merely a suggestion.
There are all kinds of reasons to not even consider adoption. Most of them have to do with trusting in our own reasoning and in our own strength and in our own human capabilities. Perhaps you couldn't possibly adopt a child because it's "too expensive" or "your house is too small" or "it would be unfair to your other children". Let me just tell you . . . if God calls you to a task, He will make a way! He has proven this to our family time and time again. We need to decide how far we are willing to follow Jesus . . . just till it gets a little hard and scary? Or till the end? He will make a way, my friends, even in the scary and the impossible.
As for my other children . . . I would not have taken this journey from them for anything. I want them to see God at work! I want them to see their parents say YES to Him! I want their hearts to be broken for the orphan and for the lost of this world and for beggars on the streets of Guangzhou. I want them to get uncomfortable as they experience things outside their comfortable American life. I want them to learn to share and to love and to sacrifice. They are learning and experiencing ALL of these things through our adoption journey, and I am so grateful to our Father for that.
I'm sure some people think Jim and I are a little crazy for doing this at our ages. After all, our kids were getting to be independent. We could go out and leave them at home. Soon we would be empty nesters, spending our money however we wanted and taking vacations and having all sorts of free time. Soon we'd be to the place where we'd done our time. Now it was time for US! But you know what? I don't think Jesus ever said anything about being "done" serving. I don't think He ever said that eventually it would be all about us. And I don't ever want to say that, either. I want to follow Him always. I want to say YES to Him no matter what. And I don't ever want to be "finished" being a servant or loving others for His kingdom's sake.
There are estimated to be over 150,000,00 orphans in the world today. If God's church were to rise up and care for "the least of these", this crisis would no longer exist. Please ask Him what He would have you do. Perhaps He will just ask you to PRAY. Perhaps He will ask you to GIVE. Perhaps He will ask you to GO. And perhaps He will ask you to give a home to an orphaned child, who otherwise will never have the love of a family or the hope of the Gospel. Ask Him what He would have you do. Just ask Him.
I want to share this very powerful video with you. Please watch it in it's entirety. Ask God what He would have you do. His heart is for the orphan.
There are all kinds of reasons to not even consider adoption. Most of them have to do with trusting in our own reasoning and in our own strength and in our own human capabilities. Perhaps you couldn't possibly adopt a child because it's "too expensive" or "your house is too small" or "it would be unfair to your other children". Let me just tell you . . . if God calls you to a task, He will make a way! He has proven this to our family time and time again. We need to decide how far we are willing to follow Jesus . . . just till it gets a little hard and scary? Or till the end? He will make a way, my friends, even in the scary and the impossible.
As for my other children . . . I would not have taken this journey from them for anything. I want them to see God at work! I want them to see their parents say YES to Him! I want their hearts to be broken for the orphan and for the lost of this world and for beggars on the streets of Guangzhou. I want them to get uncomfortable as they experience things outside their comfortable American life. I want them to learn to share and to love and to sacrifice. They are learning and experiencing ALL of these things through our adoption journey, and I am so grateful to our Father for that.
I'm sure some people think Jim and I are a little crazy for doing this at our ages. After all, our kids were getting to be independent. We could go out and leave them at home. Soon we would be empty nesters, spending our money however we wanted and taking vacations and having all sorts of free time. Soon we'd be to the place where we'd done our time. Now it was time for US! But you know what? I don't think Jesus ever said anything about being "done" serving. I don't think He ever said that eventually it would be all about us. And I don't ever want to say that, either. I want to follow Him always. I want to say YES to Him no matter what. And I don't ever want to be "finished" being a servant or loving others for His kingdom's sake.
There are estimated to be over 150,000,00 orphans in the world today. If God's church were to rise up and care for "the least of these", this crisis would no longer exist. Please ask Him what He would have you do. Perhaps He will just ask you to PRAY. Perhaps He will ask you to GIVE. Perhaps He will ask you to GO. And perhaps He will ask you to give a home to an orphaned child, who otherwise will never have the love of a family or the hope of the Gospel. Ask Him what He would have you do. Just ask Him.
I want to share this very powerful video with you. Please watch it in it's entirety. Ask God what He would have you do. His heart is for the orphan.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" ~ Matthew 25:40
