Saturday, September 28, 2013

"I Like Adoption"

The other night, David and I had the privilege of attending a fundraising banquet for Bethany Christian Services. This is the agency we're using for our adoption, and this banquet is the place where David and I both felt a strong call from the Lord that we should pursue adoption as soon as possible a couple of years ago, so of course it has a special place in our hearts :)

We had heard that the speaker was supposed to be really good this year, but we didn't know who it would be or any other details. They started by showing this video, which I had seen before. I think it's such a great video, though, so I didn't mind at all seeing it again :)



After the video ended, we could hear some music, and all of a sudden we realized that one of the guys from the video (the one who was playing the piano with his feet) was there! And he was playing the guitar with his feet and singing. It was truly so amazing to watch. I was excited when I realized that he would be the speaker for the evening. Since I had already seen the video a couple of times, I almost felt like he was an adoption celebrity there to speak to us :)

George talked about how he was neglected and mistreated in the orphanage because he was different. He talked about how he weighed 9 pounds when he was a year and a half old. He talked about how he was almost dead when his parents came and adopted him. He told us about how they brought him home and loved him, and he told us that he thrived in their care. He said that he was the first child his parents adopted, and he said that he was such a "success story" that they adopted more children after him. He reminds his siblings of that often, he said ;) He told us that he knows that he is so important to God. He was important to God when he was a 9 pound little baby neglected in an orphanage. He might have been forgotten by the world, but God didn't forget about him. He sent a family for him. He had already sent His Son for him. God has provided for all of his needs, and now this young man travels around and tells his story. He wants people to know that ALL life is valuable to God.

It was such an encouragement to me. There are times when I wonder if we're crazy for wanting to adopt a child with special needs. After all, we have no experience. We don't know what we're doing. But ALL life matters to God. He cares about children. He cares about orphans. He cares about people who the world doesn't view as valuable. He loves "the least of these." And, as Christians, we are called to love these people, too. So, it's our privilege to bring a child with special needs into our family. I want to be for a child what George's family has been for him. I want to respond in obedience to God's call and trust in Him to take care of all of the details.

We are so excited to be on this adoption journey!

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