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| Find this and more statistics on adoption at ABBA Fund. |
"They are not the unnecessary ones in the world. God sent them here for a purpose."
-Pastor Lee Jong-rak
As one very astute
blogger once put it: “Adoption is a calling, not a consolation prize.” As
accepted as adoption finally is in our society, the concept is still very
immature in many people’s minds in terms of why
it is chosen. Even among Christian circles, I’ve heard the rhetoric of “Well, there’s
always adoption.” And most people who say it, don’t mean it in a “Hey, adoption’s
a great option for you to grow your family,” kind of way. They usually mean it
in a, “Well, you tried everything. Why not just pick from some poor unfortunate
souls, dust them off, and call them your own?” way.
Perhaps not as harshly put.
But imagine the implications for those on the receiving end of that advice if
they happen to be struggling with infertility.
Anyway, since
fertility isn’t necessarily our issue, it’s not where I’ll be going with this.
There’s another way
this last resort mindset is taking shape…
“But you can still
have kids, why are you adopting?”
I can’t tell you how
much that question hurts my heart. It implies is that orphaned children aren’t
worth adding to your family unless you can’t have “children of your own.”
Children of your own…
A phrase rife with
red flags. I believe it is universally understood that the phrase “having
children of your own” refers to the children that share your genetic makeup. That
doesn’t make the phrase right. People who are called to adopt aren’t always initially looking
to have children with their DNA.
It’s a false
premise that adoption can’t possibly be higher up on the list of ways to grow
one’s family…or even be the FIRST CHOICE. There are a few flaws to this way of
thinking. The first one is that just anyone should consider adoption if they
want a child badly enough. That’s not the way real life works. People have
their own reasons for why or why not to adopt. Another flaw is that adoption is
far more than a choice to have children. It is a ministry calling just as much
as leadership to a church is. And it is a ministry just as much as raising your
children (however they came to you) is. The Lord should be doing the prompting
upon the hearts of those directly involved. Adoption is listening to the Lord’s
will for an individual’s life. It is doing heavy researching as well. It is
getting educated on the subject. It is spending hours upon hours of poring
through pros and cons. It is hearing and asking about personal testimonies from
those affected both negatively and positively by adoption. It is prayer and
possibly fasting. It is resolute. And it is NOT for everyone.
It IS, however, for
those who have been called to it. For those who have a heart for children. For
those who want to see the lost saved. For those who sees Christ in these kids.
And for those who know these kids were made for greatness if only they were given
the opportunity to show it. It’s for those who want to make an impact for the
Kingdom. For the ones who realize this world needs these children to grow up in
the Lord; especially if anything radical is going to happen to improve it.
Each individual
orphaned child is living life. A life given by God for His purpose. If we all
just adopted only when WE needed a child, we’d get nowhere fast with the orphan
problem this world faces. THEY need it. And this world needs to see Christ in
us. Did you know there are over 150 million orphans in the world today? Only a
quarter of a million ever get adopted! Those numbers may seem impossible to
fix, but it starts with one and with you. One less is all it takes to drop that
statistic. If we thought less about proprieties and material things, and more
about caring for the “least” of us, I’ve no doubt that this world would see a
vast improvement through the blessing of these children.
Not everyone is called
to adopt. But EVERYONE is called to do SOMETHING. So be sure of the intentions
behind your words. Because adoption shouldn’t have to be a decision made ONLY when
people have lost hope. Sometimes, people just want to bring hope to others.
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SHORT UPDATE:
It's been far too long since I've updated you all on our adoption fundraising efforts. Please forgive me as life happens and things get away from me, lol. I'm pleased to say our August 1st yard sale was a huge success and brought in over $800!!! A HUGE thank you to those who donated items, money, time, and your efforts to our small but impactful event!!! Every dollar counts!
You'll also find that I've updated the Fund O' Meter to reflect current totals. We've reached our next thousand! We're 30% of the way to our initial $10,000 goal! We're so excited for what the Lord has to come!!!
If you feel led by the Lord to donate to our cause, feel free to use the PayPal Donate button on the top right of this blog (no PayPal account necessary), or visit our fundraising page at YouCaring.com/MercierAdoption. And THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS!!!
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| YouCaring.com/MercierAdoption |
