Why Adoption?

Why adopt? Bottom line is: We love kids! We would love to have a lot of kids, and adoption is a beautiful way to add kids to our family. Having said that, there are also other factors that led us to choosing adoption for our family.

When I was a child if anyone asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up, my reply was always the same: "I'm going to start an orphanage in Vietnam." I guess I have always had a heart for orphans. I also grew up knowing four aunts and uncles and a cousin who were all adopted and all but one of Asian descent. My husband has a special place in his heart for orphans because he is an orphan and knows how it feels even as an adult to be without parents.

Our Heavenly Father also has a special place in his heart for orphans. He calls himself the "Father of the fatherless." (Psalm 68:5) Throughout the Bible evidence abounds for His special love for the fatherless. And then, we are commanded to "look after orphans in their distress." (James 1:27) We are not specifically told to adopt orphans into our families, and we realize that there are many ways to provide relief to orphans. But, we also believe that adoption is a beautiful picture of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He says several times in the New Testament that if we are trusting in Him, He adopts us. We are no longer strangers, but daughters and sons. Our journey towards adoption has given us a new perspective on God's loving Father heart that receives us into His family as legal heirs. (See Romans chapters 8 and 9)

Would we have chosen adoption if we knew that it would lead us down this path of intense suffering and pain? Honestly, I'm not sure. But I hope so. I hope so because we did not enter into the process of adoption lightly. We entered with much prayer and by following the leading of our Heavenly Father. If we would have somehow been able to foresee this suffering and turn away from the process, we would not have been walking in obedience to our all-knowing, all-powerful and all-sufficient God. We would not have tasted the joy that comes from being sustained by God's grace through the deep valley of pain.

The grace of God is sufficient for every new day no matter how difficult. . . There is more true joy in walking with God through fire, than walking on beaches without him.
-Pastor John Piper