Will You Search Your Reason for Saying No?

I'm not even sure where to begin on all the things mumble jumbled around in my brain regarding adoption, orphans, Christians, and the local church. My last post talked about how caring for orphans doesn't mean that every single Christian family is supposed to adopt. However, I truly believe that not nearly enough Christian families wholeheartedly consider adoption. I fear that when people hear "not all Christian families are supposed to adopt" they might breathe a deep sigh of relief possibly thinking, "Phew, we are totally in that category," and orphans, children who are on God's heart, whom He called us to care for, are put out of one's mind, and essentially forgotten until the next orphan Sunday when church mentions it, or until that crazy family that is all gung-ho adoption talks about it again, or writes about it on their blog.

I admit, I get slightly anxious about being so boisterous and forward about such issues because these kinds of issues- orphans, children without Moms, Dads, and families, can make people feel uncomfortable. And sometimes when people get uncomfortable, they get mad. This is a slightly scary place for me to be, seeing as though I'm a recovering people pleaser! But nonetheless, I believe God wants someone to advocate for the least of these, for those who society has cast aside, for those who are fatherless, and have no means to experience the love of a family, or even worse, never get taught the love of Jesus. 

 Entoto, Ethiopia (by: Tiffany Darling)

My friend Tiffany, who never thought adoption would be part of her life, has added two children into her home through the beauty of adoption- one being a special needs toddler and the other, a teenage boy who was living on the streets in Ethiopia. She writes this about advocating for orphans this month. 

"This is not pleasant. Orphan care is not pretty. The devastating need and plight of many of the orphans in our world today is uncomfortable to look at. However, if I am being honest in how I advocate for these children, and paint a real, accurate photo, well, sometimes it's just plain ugly. Sometimes it looks like teenage boys laying on cold cement, huddled together eager for some comfort of warmth, huffing glue to stave off the incredibly painful hunger that rips through their stomaches. Sometimes it looks like sweet little girls selling their bodies to wicked men in hopes of recieving enough money to survive one more day. Sometimes it looks like babies laying listless in cribs - two to three diaperless and together - with malnourished bellies so swollen that to pick the child up would cause excrutiating pain. Sometimes it looks like bruised and battered children being shuffled in and out of one home after another just longing for routine, security, family. That makes me pretty uncomfortable to think about and to write about, and I am sure it is uncomfortable to read...I think we need to start feeling uncomfortable. I am backing out of my corner and opening my mouth to speak the truth this month - even if it just wrecks my heart, and sets a fire back under me."

China

I wholeheartedly believe that if you are a stable, Jesus-loving, Jesus-preaching, Gospel-centered family, that maybe God is calling you to think again about pursuing adoption. If you are saying, "No, that's not for us." What is your reason? I urge you to be honest in your heart about why you feel it's not for you. 

U.S. Foster Care