Answered Prayer

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27

Adoption is my heart. I love the whole concept of it. I love that numerous times in Scripture God Himself refers to us as "adopted" by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No longer slaves to sin, but sons and daughters of the Most High. One of my favorites is Ephesians 1:4-6 "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

What a wonderful thing to be chosen. Adopted children struggle with a lot of emotions. I know this because of my oldest two children who are adopted by their daddy. I know this because we have many, many friends who have adopted babies and children - domestic, international, orphaned, abandoned. However, when you really get past the emotion of it all - adopted children, even more so than biological children, can honestly say "I was chosen." There is no such thing as an unwanted adopted child. That would be the truest definition of an oxymoron. Adopted children are always wanted - their parents go through way too much to get them home for them to be unwanted. With spiritual maturity comes the realization that God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy chose their family for them, before the foundations of the earth. All good and perfect gifts, like family, are from Him and He makes no mistakes.

When I think about the depths of what God did in order for me to be adopted as His child, I can hardly comprehend it. To send His own son as the ultimate sacrifice for me is absolutely unthinkable. To send Jesus into a world full of sin and hate. A world where people would beat him, spit on him, taunt him and then hang him on a cross. It is crazy.

There is only one thing that I can think of that might just be worse than the heated emotions of hatred. In Revelation God speaks to the church at Sardis and He says that because their deeds are neither hot nor cold He will spit them out of His mouth. He says, "I wish you were one or the other!" Apathy. It is strangling the American church, cutting off the powerful flow of the Holy Spirit in such a way that we are dying a slow and painful death. God has spoken, He desires that we make a choice. He has chosen us, and He desires that we choose life. Life for ourselves and our children and life for the helpless in our midst.

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." Deuteronomy 30:19

"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

My husband has recently made a decision, one that has been a long time in the making. The prayers I have sent Heavenward on the issue of adoption have not been unanswered. God's timing is perfect, and I am resting in that. Somewhere, right now, I am thoroughly convinced there is a sweet young lady out there who has chosen LIFE. A young lady who is carrying a child, a child that she could have called a "mistake" or a "fetus." A baby who, in our self-centered culture could easily have ended up in a plastic bag behind a Planned Parenthood clinic labeled as "medical waste." Instead, she is choosing the selfless alternative. She is choosing to carry the baby to term and then put him or her up for adoption. I know this decision is agonizing for many young ladies. They want what is best for their baby, they must or they would have chosen abortion. Handing over the baby you have carried inside your body for nine months must be heart wrenching. I can not imagine the pain, but I am so thankful that this sweet lady and many like her choose LIFE. She is allowing her baby the chance to grow up, the chance to live. We will pray for her for the rest of our lives.

We have chosen domestic adoption for various reasons. The need for adoption is tremendous all over the world, and America is no exception. I have felt the tug of adoption since I was a little girl. It is something that I always knew I had a heart for, but was not spiritually mature enough to put that emotion into words. I'm not sure if I am yet.

I have four children, so my desire to adopt is not about fulfilling a "need" to give birth. I have done that. I have experienced almost every type of birth you can experience. I have given birth by C-section, with pain medication, and without. The only thing I have not done is have a home birth, and that is a dream of mine that is probably not to be, but thanks to my sweet friend Jill I have witnessed the miracle of home birth. It is beautiful and simple, yet so amazingly intricate. Just like our God. I have nursed my children and loved every second of it. I grieve the fact that I am past that part of my life. However, the closer I get to God, the more He continues to break me for the things that break His heart. He is grieved by the way our society views children. He is saddened by the fact that there are approximately 46,000,000 murders in the form of abortion per year worldwide. Not to mention the number of babies and children who die from hunger related diseases, poor health care and AIDS. On top of that you have child pornography, sex trafficking of children, and child abuse statistics that are staggering. In general, the world's view of children is sickening at best.

What does God say about children?

"Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion." Isaiah 8:18

"Behold,children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3

There are many more, including one in the gospels where Jesus says to bring the little children to Him and not to hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as them.

Obviously, His view of children is vastly different than the one the world portrays. Even in non-extreme cases where there is no abuse, how many people do you know who truly enjoy their children? How many people truly want more and more of God's blessings? Personally, I am thankful to know many people whose heart's desire is to train their children for His glory. People who enjoy their children to the fullest, acknowledging that they are a gift, on loan from heaven.

However, in general, people I run into on the street say things to me like, "Why would you have so many?" Or, they try to be cute and say, "Wow, you must not have a TV!"

Seriously? I have heard all the jokes, and they were not funny the first time.

I can only imagine the ones that are coming as we begin what I hope will be our "second set" of children.

Please pray for us as we begin this journey. As we embark on a new path for our family, a path that I have no doubt will bring us joy, heartache, laughter, and tears. We pledge to love this child from the depths of our hearts and souls. We pledge to train him or her up in the way God wants them to go. We pledge to make whatever sacrifices He deems necessary for us to raise this child for Him and for His glory, fully acknowledging that for this child we have prayed and this child will belong to God, exactly as our others do.

Our desire to adopt stems from the fact that God's heart is turned towards the fatherless. Psalms 82:3 entreats us, "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed."There is simply nothing left to say.

Will you join me in praying for the fatherless around the world? Will you ask God what He would have you do to defend their cause?

I want to leave you with a picture that Bryce took which encompasses the fullness of my heart right now. You may be familiar with "Revelation Song" and I love these words of praise and adoration to my most Awesome and Amazing God!