Why I Am Glad I Adopted

Just a couple of days ago my family celebrated our youngest son’s Gotcha Day.  What is that you ask?  It is the day when, seven years ago we adopted our son from Guatemala, the day we got him.  We were not there when he was born (eight months before), but in a very real sense he was born into our family on that amazing Gotcha Day of July 9^th, 2007.

Adoption

I did a lot of thinking on that day.  I pondered all the ways I have been blessed having Micah in our family.  I write this post to celebrate, but more importantly to raise the value of adoption in your mind.

In the last several years the calling of adoption has been elevated like never before.  This is a good thing.  There need not be children who go without families.  Opening our hearts and homes to the fatherless is a step of faith more and more families should take.

When we adopted we already had three biological children of our own.  It is not that we were short on family members or that we lacked things to do.  It was that God called us to expand our vision, stretch our faith, and enlarge our heart.

I am going to share just a few short reasons why we are glad we adopted.  I hope you will be blessed to read through these.  For some of you it might give you a deeper appreciation for those who choose to adopt.  For others it might inspire you to consider adoption yourself.  And for others you might consider financially supporting a family you know who is adopting.

Why am I glad we adopted…

1. I have a son!  This is the obvious blessing.  I love Micah.  He is my boy.  We have grown so close these last 7 years.  I look at him and say, “That is my boy.”  It is a wonderful gift.
2. I have learned that how someone comes into your family is not as important as the fact that they are in your family.  Having children the biological way is amazing.  But so is adoption.  It is different for sure, but no less miraculous.  I wish I could explain it better, but it is just true.
3. I have learned being a parent is more than just who I am it is what I do.  When you give birth to kids you are a parent.  But that doesn’t mean you automatically do parenting.  Doing the job of a parent is an act of love and giving.  It is a choice I have to make.  This is so obvious when you adopt.
4. I have learned so much about God’s love for me.  The Bible teaches that believers are adopted into the family of God. (Ephesians 1:5)  We were spiritual orphans separated by sin, but then God redeemed us in Christ and adopted us into his family.  Few times do I look at my son, recall choosing to become his father, without also thinking of how God did the same for us.  My son has taught me so much about God’s love.
5. I have enjoyed the blessing of being obedient to God.  Not everyone is called to adopt.  We were.  We can tell you the story (that would be for another post) of how God prompted us to go on this journey.  The process of adoption was intimidating and costly.  But we chose to obey the promptings of God anyway.  And how glad I am that we did.  Because we obeyed God’s specific call for us, we got to witness his provision and guidance along the way.  We saw God at work as we willingly joined him in what he had called us to do.
6. I get to tell my son about Jesus.  Since that very first Gotcha Day we have taught him of God’s love and purpose for his life.  He now has faith in the God who made him, placed him in our family, and offers him salvation in Jesus.  Last year, as an act of his will he placed his faith in Christ and I had the privilege of baptizing him.  I will continue to disciple him as he grows into a man.  But how amazing this journey has been watching him fall in love with the Lord.

There are so many more reasons why adoption has been a blessing for us, but I am out of space.

To all of you who have chosen to adopt a child into your family, I applaud you.

To all of you who are considering adoption, I commend you.

To all of you who willingly support and prayerfully encourage those who do adopt, thank you so much.  We who have adopted could not have done so without your support.  You make all the difference.

I am so glad we adopted.

Question:  Are you someone who has adopted?  Are you someone who has been adopted?  Do you know someone who has adopted that has inspired you?  How have you been blessed by an act of adoption?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.