WHY???

I am not naive. I know there are alot of people out there- some very close to me- who hear or read that we are considering adoption and think, " they have no business doing that!" or "they have so many struggles they are FINALLY getting through, they shouldn't think about doing that." or "they are irresponsible for even talking about it." and on and on it goes. They are thinking of the time, energy, and of course MONEY it takes to bring a child home and then raise him or her. I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me. I'd be dishonest if I said it doesn't make me angry. But not because of what they are saying about me...it's what they are saying about our God that gets me so fired up.
So here's my response:

"they have so many struggles they are FINALLY getting through, they shouldn't think about doing that." - the only way we have gotten through those struggles is being led by God through our faith in him. God never promised us we'd be "comfortable and without struggles." In fact, as a Christian, I am basically guaranteed to face spiritual war... and comfort is relative. I guarantee my life is unimaginably comfortably compared to a crowded orphanage in Africa.

"they are irresponsible for even talking about it." - we're ignoring our Father's commandment if we ignore it. I'm not suggesting that EVERY believer should bring a child home. But I am stating that EVERY believer should help the widows and the orphans.

Obviously, I have gotten pretty emotional about this subject. I think about it all the time. And because I imagine some might be asking how that affects my life with the family I ALREADY have, I will tell you. I have never been so intentional in my interactions with my husband and my children as I have been the last month. I grieve deeply when I wrong them, I pray constantly for them- and nightly with them. I have been given a HUGE gift in my family and the opportunity to show them Christ's light in their day- I want to give everything I can to that end. There are too many kids in the world that will never get to see that light. How can I not take it seriously? It is an easy choice for me. But I also know that God has called me to give that love, to shine that light for another child who would otherwise only know darkness.

I won't even go into the money issue here. read my previous posts if you need proof on how God has worked in that area of our lives.

I follow alot of blogs- and one of them highlighted a family recently that is a huge inspiration to me. They are younger than Joe and I and have 3 kids biologically, and have adopted 6 more, AND just found out they are expecting a child. First, relax. I am not saying I want 10 kids (yet)... but I love their motto, and while I can't say that I envy her laundry situation, I do aspire to her trust in God...and pray that I can raise as many children as God deems mine to love him and serve him and go out into the world with that same understanding.

Here's what she wrote to those who asked the question "WHY???"

I pray that with each day, I can live her answers.

"We are often asked WHY? Why would we adopt THREE kids, more-less SIX kids? Why would we do this? Why devote our lives to this “cause” (if you can truly even call it that).
Here’s why:

-Because we believe that this life is not our own.

-Because we believe that in the end, it won’t matter what career ladders we climbed or financial investments we made or what gadgets we could afford. It will matter that six lives were saved.

-Because we have seen hopelessness firsthand in Ethiopia and elsewhere, but believe in all hope that each child is a child of God.

-Because we believe that the orphaned street child who plays street soccer on the rough pavement of the streets of Addis Ababa is no less valuable to the Creator than the polished child on a suburban soccer team here in America.

-Because we see nothing more worthy of our focus, time, resources, and lives.

-Because injustice is a wrong worth righting.

-Because the poor child is still a child.

-Because we know that, while adoption is not the solution in and of itself to the orphan crisis 143 million times over, we have seen with our own lives how it rescues the lives of those who can be adopted.

-Because we believe that Jesus died for redemption, not just for eternity, but for our lives on this planet and we believe we can be vessels of that redemption for children’s lives here.

-Because we know that, if it were our own flesh and blood, we would want someone to love them and call them family, too.

-Because, really, these kids are no different from your own. Not at all.

-Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs a home when we have one.

-Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs a family when we have one.

-Because it’s just not okay with us to say no to a child who needs room to thrive when we have room and can make room.

-Because it’s just not okay with us to do nothing.

-Because it won’t be okay with them if we do nothing.

-Because it’s just not going to be okay to do nothing."

Heidi Weimer

1 comments:

Laura Voth said...

Oh Carrie, thanks for sharing! I am not in your position right now, but my heart is and I so hope that someday I can share in your step of faith in this area. I am learning from my own situation that there are many that won't understand or fully know the heart of the situation, but God is the only one we are accountable to!!