We are extremely privileged, there’s no denying that. Our lives are built to be reflections of our Creator and Father and living lives under any other delusion is shameful. So we have come to the question, how should we use what we’ve been given to better reflect our Father’s character and do what’s important to Him?
This campaign, this adoption pursuit of ours is nothing original. If you know us, you know that we aren’t adopted, but yet we are. One of our foremost privileges was being born into loving and God fearing homes. Homes where our parents cared for us, mind, body, and soul. Homes where we were taught that there is more, that there is a greater Father that loves us and that adopts us. We’ve found that much like orphans struggling with trauma, we don’t trust. We harm ourselves. We’re self destructive. We’re dysfunctional. We distance ourselves from positive community and undermine what is good. And yet we were still adopted.
With this adoption, we are empowered to fight our trauma. We are empowered to pursue things greater than ourselves. We don’t have to defend ourselves anymore. We are learning that self gratification, hedonism, is only truly realized when serving Him. We are reconciled and empowered to share this same generosity that has been given to us in abundance with others, abundantly.
So now the question is almost rhetorical. “How should we use what we’ve been given to better reflect our Father’s character and do what’s important to Him?” While we don’t have the cash to drop on adoption (https://goo.gl/XBSF1v) we do have time. We do have a home. God will give us the strength to love as we should (and make up for it when we don’t). We have room at our table. Because the return horizon on this investment is eternal, it can’t be compared to a Pinterest-worthy home, a new car, or your envy of an epic vacation.
Building on our chief motive (our adoption motivating us to serve for the glory of God), adoption gives us the opportunity to fight hand-to-hand a number of derivative priorities.
Understand though, that we are not adopting a soapbox. These issues just end up being addressed while pursuing a robust faith.
What do we want from you? Money would be nice, but we won’t stop without you. Neither will your love life improve if you donate. God won’t love you more if you donate. God won’t love you less if you don’t. You won’t get a mention in our credits. Is this something you need to give to? Only you and God can figure that out. There are no guilt trips or sales pitches here.
Here are some questions that you may have.
Don’t you have kids already? Yup, what’s your point? There are still kids that need families.
Aren’t you fertile? Allegedly. But we figure this is the best way to leverage growing our family for the good of the kingdom.
Won’t you be taking orphans away from other, more worthy families? No, we are targeting communities with a low supply of adoptive families. And “more worthy”? What’s the priority, an adult’s need to self actualize or a kid’s need for a family?
Aren’t you taking something away from the adoptive kid by it not being all about them? No. We weren’t at the center of our adoption, so neither is our child at the center of theirs. The only reason the fatherless are a problem and the only way to solve the orphan problem is through God.
Ryan first brought up his desire to adopt when we were dating 8 years ago. This was something I, Laura, had only considered as plan B. While I’ve always agreed mentally that adoption was a good way of building our family, I really only wanted biological kids. Our journey to adoption has been a long slow process of God patiently bringing me to a place where I can wholeheartedly pursue His plan in continuing to build our family through adoption.
We’ve had fits and starts in pursuing adoption over the years, due to legitimate as well as selfish delays. When our oldest son was 1 year old, we found out we were pregnant with twins. Sadly, we miscarried a few days later, which was one of the hardest things I’ve gone through. While I was recovering from the miscarriage, God very graciously comforted me and showed me that as much as I wanted to be in control of building our family, it was in God’s good, loving, and wise hands and not up to me. This gave me a desire to pursue adoption again but when we got pregnant the next year, we once again put God’s call to adopt on the back burner.
We still desire to grow our family and after much prayer, consideration, and research, we’ve come to the conclusion that the best way to maximize that opportunity for God’s glory is to adopt. We were just about finished with foster care certification when we came to some unresolvable hesitations, so have decided to pursue private domestic infant adoption. We are finishing up the process of interviewing agencies with the intention of partnering with one with a low supply of adoptive families, this probably means adopting from outside Colorado.
In conclusion, there are a surplus of kids that need stable homes and more people need to step up to help satisfy the need. Instead of continuing to support others at an arms distance by just listening, praying, or throwing money at the problem, we feel it's time to be directly involved in solving the orphan crisis. Would you care to join us?
Of course you can partner financially, but consider how you can get involved in the larger solution too. Foster parents are always needed. Respite care is needed for foster parents. Adoptive parents are needed for foster kids and for other kids before they get to the foster system.
While we appreciate your support, don't overlook how you can help the bigger issue.
This page is inspired by the following references primarily.
Ephesians 1 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
James 1:27 - Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.
Matthew 25:14-30 - [parable of the talents]
Mark 12:29-33 - Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
