Did you know November is National Adoption Month?
Superman and I have truly been blessed by our children. I can’t imagine if we had skirted God’s call and avoided adoption in the first place. I mean, it would have been easy. We could have skipped the endless paperwork, home visits, birth parent visits, court dates, endless paperwork (oh, did I already mention that?) and general pain-in-the-rear-ness that comes with adopting. But it wasn’t even a question for us. We knew what we were supposed to do; so we did it. After our first son (who is biologically ours) was born, we knew we were done having birth children and wanted to adopt the rest from an adoption agency. We eventually had 3 boys and a girl and thought we were done. Until we received a call from our social worker letting us know that the birth mom of our last 2 children was pregnant, and we would most likely be asked to take the baby. Even though I had intense hesitation about adding a fifth child to our brood, the Lord softened my heart and allowed me to experience the joy of having such a beautiful, wonderful girl in our lives. But you know what? That softened heart didn’t just happen. I told the Lord that He would have to change my heart because I sure as heck didn’t think I was ready to be a mom of five. And I left it at that. I figured if He wanted me to take another kid in, He was going to have to make a miracle happen. And miracle-maker is His middle name. Well, maybe not, but you get the point.
Can you imagine this picture with one of these kids missing? Me neither. Oh, and that bronzed tall man isn’t too shabby, either.
So, here are my top 10 reasons to adopt:
10. Stretch marks? No worries! You get to skip that part!
9. Morning sickness, being uncomfortable and having to use a body pillow to sleep is for the birds!
8. Seeing a living example of how we are “adopted” into God’s family is priceless.
7. Knowing you are making an actual, real difference in the life of a child is one of the most amazing feelings.
6. Realizing you can love someone who isn’t “from you” just as much as your birth children.
5. There’s always more room in your heart to love than you think.
4. Passing on your traditions and beliefs to children who may otherwise have never experienced a Christmas morning or Thanksgiving or birthday celebration is incredibly rewarding.
3. Knowing you are changing the world…even if it’s just a small part of it.
2. You will be stretched and pushed beyond your comfort zone and forced to grow, even if you don’t think you want to.
1. Joshua, Michael, Naomi, Grace and {insert name here}.
There are thousands and thousands of kids around the U.S. and the world waiting for a family to love them. Are you being called?
reinna says
This is a great top 10. Adopting is something my hubby and I are considering but like you we have asked God if this is supposed to happen. We will see.
Thanks!
Grace says
Oh I so needed this today! Our children are adopted and I am IMPATIENTLY waiting for number four. 🙂 This is our longest wait yet………..we have been waiting two years this month. Our first child we adopted through foster care, our second we adopted from China and our third is from South Korea. All came to us within two years of the other. They are now 9, 7, and five. The oldest was two days old, our middle child was a year and our third hcild was four months. We have chosen to adopt through a private agency this time………….felt that from the Lord. I remember one friend telling me how lucky I was to adopt because when you are pregnant you have to buy bigger panties. ha ha I still giggle about that. We are beyond blessed by our children. Adopting sure changes your prayer life. You get to pray for the birth families and pray for the workers in the social system, pray for the judges, pray for the countries………..the list goes on. And yes, realizing how we are adopted into the family of God keeps your heart humble and thankful. Blessings on your family.
Madeline says
What a beautiful family you have! Our children came to us through adoption as well. Gracie is seven. Garrett is five. Both of our babies were born in China. If I could adopt ten more babies, I would. I have often thought that if I won the lottery, the first, second, third, fourth thing that I would want to do is to start the adoption process again…and again and again and again. I don’t need a bigger home, new cars, expensive jewelry, days of shopping at Nordstroms (Ok, maybe I would like just one day to do that, but I could do that at Target. LOL). Children are the most precious jewels. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than looking into the eyes of a child knowing that God brought that very child into the world just for you to love and to raise to glorify Him. Grace, see above comment, is our friend. We brought our daughters home from China on the same trip. Our daughters shared a room and the first year of their lives in the same orphanage. I love the top ten list you came up with. Another positive reason to adopt (for us) is that adoption has opened up a whole new family of friends for us. We keep in touch with the families in our travel groups. We celebrate their joys and comfort them in their struggles. We grow spiritually and we grow in love for others. People have always said things to me like, ” it is heroic, what a lucky child, you are saving a life, look at what you have done for that child” etc. But my response has always been that God has blessed ME in so many more ways than I could possibly have imagined though my children. We, as parents, are the lucky ones! God bless you and your family!
Cynthia Farley says
Loved your post! As an adoptive mom of 4….I couldn’t agree more!!!
Lisa says
Dear Shanti,
How I have missed you! So glad to have found you and your blog again.
Beautiful family!
radlandon says
Aw, thanks Lisa!! Glad you found me, too!
Carrie says
Love your blog…especially for the meal ideas, etc. But I SUPER DUPER love the heart God has given you for adoption…your willingness to obey and share! I pray my husband and I will add to our brood through adoption. Just being patient. 🙂
radlandon says
Thank you, Carrie! Good job being patient–it’s hard to be on the Lord’s timing sometimes!