The One Simple Reason For Adoption

People ask why we adopted.

(I sometimes want to look back at them and ask why they gave birth, but that’s a different post.)

We’ve told the story of how; we’ve told the story of what and where. And you certainly have heard about how the girls have changed our lives.

But I don’t think we’ve ever sufficiently answered why.

It’s simple, really…we fell in love.

For us, adoption wasn’t an answer to infertility, it wasn’t a way to meet a deep unfulfilled yearning to be parents, it wasn’t even through a passion to “save” an orphan.

We just fell in love.

Masha’s path crossed ours a bit unexpectedly. She didn’t have some grand plan of working hard and earning a spot on the trip to America to find a family. She didn’t  even know she was going until a few days before they left.

We didn’t have some grand plan of adoption, either (although my friends tell me I talked about it as a kid–but more as a way to avoid diapers and puke). We didn’t research countries and processess and developmental stages and ages and make choices that decided who got a chance and who didn’t.

God took care of all of that for us.

He worked out all the details for us and dropped Masha at our doorstep, where she froze in terror upon the sight of Simon. Where she said “большои дом” and  “толстая собака.”  (He’s not fat.  He’s just fluffy. Really.)

God made it easy for us to take that first step, because that’s what each of us could handle.

And then he used experience to transform us.

He strengthened us so that we’d be ready for a bigger challenge. Deeper love. More faithful obedience.

But for us, the reason was always simple. Love.

• Love that went beyond looking at a picture on the refrigerator and sending a check (although we do that too)
• Love that went beyond filling shoeboxes with gifts from the dollar store (although we do that too, too)
• Love that looked us in the eye and said “this is where she’s meant to be”

That’s why we adopted.

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It’s National Adoption Month.

Honestly, I wish adoption didn’t exist.

I wish every child had a safe home with two parents.

Do I think we’ll find that, short of heaven? Probably not. Until then, there will be hardship, there will be war, there will be famine, there will be selfishness and greed. There will be death.

Jesus told us there will be troubles, but He also told us that He will walk beside us.  That He will send an advocate to fill us with His power, and through Him we can do the things He calls us to.

For us, that was adopting.

For you, that might mean something else entirely.

Just make sure it means something.

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What are you called to do that you can’t do on your own? Leave a comment…