living a life of love for others

I had an interesting comment come at me the other day " You would not be so concerned about what is happening with His Hands if you were not adopting with them." 

The words went straight to my heart... and I prayed they were not true. 

Over the last couple of months we have been asking you to support us in our adoption journey, and also to support His Hands Taiwan an organization that is in great need of support as they maneuver through the new laws passed in December.

Our prayer has been that as you follow our adoption process that we would inspire you to think of different ways that you can be apart of the process of taking care of orphans ( James 1:27).  That may mean you get involved in the foster care system , you give to an organization that takes care of orphans ( His Hands, Show Hope etc) or you support an adoptive family ( like us!) 

His Hands is incredibly important to us.  We have seen first hand the amazing work they do, their passion for taking care of young women in crisis pregnancies, the loving care they give to each and everyone of the babies in their care.  We are in awe of the work they do each day, and think their ministry is incredibly important. 

I encourage you to read an incredible blog post from a friend of ours.  ( He is a great writer, and has been a great support throughout our adoption journey).  He is encouraging us to support His Hands Taiwan and has arranged a specific way for everyone to be able to do just that. ( check out the post for specific information)

Please join with us in praying for His Hands Taiwan.  Not because we are adopting through their organization, but because what they do is incredibly important!

Blessings!

Sacrifice

Easter is always a time of reflexion for me.  A time to remember the sacrifice that God made for me, because of his unending love.

This Easter I have been reminded of someone else's sacrifice that has greatly changed my life. There is a young women that over a year ago decided to choose life for her baby, who made one of the most selfless decisions of her life... she chose to give her child up for adoption, to give her a life that for whatever reason she could not give her child.  That decision gave us the opportunity to love a little girl who is so special to us, to be able to provide a home for her, to love her unconditionally, to teach her about Jesus. 

I have been surprised by the negative views many people have about biological parents in an adoption situation.  It breaks my heart that it is so easy for us to sit back and judge a situation that we have no idea about.  

My challenge to you today is to stop and think about how you view parents who choose to put their child up for adoption. Do you look down on them?  Do you automatically think the worst possible things about them?  Do you assume they abandoned their child because they are reckless and heartless?  Do you assume they are a young irresponsible teenage girl who has no idea who got her pregnant? 

 

The women who gave life to my daughter is not the person you imagine her to be.  I have very little information about her, I may never get the chance to meet her, but I have seen a part of her heart.  You see the sacrifice she made for Grace reminds me every day how special this woman is.  

If you think of the moms who have chosen adoption for their children, would you pray for them?   If you know someone who is trying to make a life changing decision like this, please be there to encourage them and to love them.

I will always be grateful to the woman who chose life for my child, I will always remember the sacrifice she made for Grace.

Blessings!

The "I" Word

Infertility

It is one of the most common topics when you announce you are adopting. 

 

  " You're adopting, so does that mean you can not have kids?"

  " did you try to have your own kids?  Did you try everything?"

  " Don't worry lots of people get pregnant after they adopt"

  "Why can't you have your own kids?"

It is my experience that infertility has nothing to do with adoption.  Families adopt children because they LOVE children, NOT because they can not have children.  Yes adoption is one of the many ways to grow your family but people do not decide to adopt solely because they can not biologically have a child.  

When we made the decision to adopt it was not because we thought it would be easy, or because we thought we had no other option.   We made the decision to adopt because for us it was important.  We wanted to expand our family by giving a home to a child who needed one for whatever circumstance.  We knew in our hearts that this was what God was calling us to do.  We knew that it would be a totally different experience than having biological children but we also knew that this was exactly what we wanted. 

the adoption process is not for everyone.  I have some wonderful friends in my life who are huge supporters of our adoption but do not feel called to adopt.  I also know that just because a women has been told she can not have a biological child does not mean adoption is the right option for their family.

So will you do me a favor?  When you talk to someone about adoption instead of asking why they can not have children, ask them why adoption is so important to them.  or when you see an adoptive mom in the grocery store instead of thinking about how her body is broken and labeling her as infertile, smile knowing that she is a mom no matter what brought her to this point.

I must say mothers day is only a month away and I am incredibly excited to celebrate this year with my Mom, Grandma's and Mother in Law.  I am incredibly privileged to be mom to my sweet little girl Grace.  Her smile lights up my day, her giggle makes me laugh out loud, everything about her is incredible.  She may not have been born of my flesh, I may not have held her in my arms yet, but she is my daughter.  She is the child that God gave to me.  

Blessings!