My husband and I sat in the doctor’s office hearing these words, “I’m so sorry, you cannot have children. If there is anything I can do for you…..” his voice trailing off. There was nothing he could do. No surgery, no fix….I thought “It must be difficult for him to have to tell young couples this news”. I smiled and tried to reassure him that it was ok. I knew God was in control and suddenly memories of a 16 year old girl came rushing back to me. I could hear her saying she was going to adopt a child who needed a home instead of having her own because there were so many children in this world who needed a family. That 16 year old girl was me!
Adoption is not an easy or quick process. Two years later our son was placed in our arms when he was five days old. I knew he was my child before I even saw him. In the next 5 years, we had 4 other opportunities to adopt. But for various reasons, none of them worked out. Our son turns 21 years old this month and continues to be such a blessing to our entire family. He is right where he belongs and where God intended him to be. God tells us in His word that he knows us before we are born… “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you…” Jeremiah 1:5 It doesn’t matter how God brought him to us, only that he is our son, a gift given to us by God. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17
As I look back on these 21 years, I can see that it is good that our son is an only child. He needed that one on one attention and I needed to be a mother of only one child. It’s funny how you can’t see God’s plan while you are “in it”, but as time passes you can see how God weaves things in, out, and through your life to create just what is suppose to be. If we could only rest in Him and trust in Him life would be so much easier for us day by day! “If God clothes the grass of the field, ….will He not much more clothe you? Do not worry then……… for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “ Matthew 6:30-32
We are not all meant to adopt. God has a plan for each of us. Just remember, when you meet a mom who has adopted her child, that she feels the same about her child as a mother who gave birth. Whether children are adopted or birthed, we love them the same…. We take care of them when they are sick, pray for them, love them, cry over them, share their joys and their sorrows, hurt deeply when they hurt, rejoice in their successes, protect them, guide them, worry about them, and are always there for them. It makes no difference how they were given to us. Once placed in our care, whether in the womb or in our arms, they are our child.
Here’s a thought for the day….We are all ‘adopted’ children of God! “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will --to the praise of His glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:3-6
~This post was written by a guest blogger. She wanted to share her story in honor of November being adoption month.
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