National Adoption Awareness Month

​It’s national adoption awareness month this month, and Orphan Sunday is coming up in a few short weeks. Our lives are surrounded by adoption daily, so it’s something always on my mind, but this is a good month to spread awareness about the orphan crisis and the beauty of adoption.
 
If you’re reading our blog, chances are you know our story. If not, I encourage you to read my posts from the last two years. We’ve gone from excited and scared to happy and nervous to broken and thankful, and I think my blog reflects that. We gone from shouting on the mountaintops to hitting rock bottom. But, really, adoption isn’t about us. Adoption is about the millions of children going through life completely alone. And absolutely nobody should have to go through life along, especially a child. I’ve seen the change that having a family makes in the life of a child. Selah came to us a sick, small, scared little girl and has transformed into a spunky, friendly, talkative, energetic little girl who never stops talking. And as you all probably know, it has not been an easy road. It’s been full of sleepless nights, tears, and guilt that we’re not enough for this little girl. And we’re not. We’re imperfect parents who only make it through with the grace of Jesus.
 

So, this post is to put a face to the word “orphan.” When we hear that there are 147 million orphans in the world, many in our own country and in our own communities, it’s hard to picture them. But this face, the face of my daughter, is the face of a former orphan. Yes, she has changed a lot in the almost year and a half she’s been with us, but the rest of us have changed, too.  I am so thankful that God chose us to be Selah’s family. However, not everyone is called to adoption. But, everyone is called to make a difference in the orphan crisis. If you aren’t called to adoption, I encourage you to be the community to someone who is. You might not be able to tell from the “highlight reel” of life (otherwise known as social media), but it’s hard. Really hard. There are days you feel like you are completely and totally alone, and I know for us, the support of our closest friends and family has meant more than we could have ever imagined.  I’m come to realize in the past few months how important community is. Community encourages and invigorates us and gives us endurance. So maybe your part of the orphan crisis is to be there for families who are fostering or adopting. This is more important than it might sound, but I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see Selah’s face light up when she sees some of our “people.” I love knowing that she has people that love her, even more than just our little family.  Or, maybe your part is to help give financially to families who are working so hard to bring their child home. Adoption costs upwards of $30,000, and if finances were not such a burden, more families would be able to adopt.
 
November is a month where we celebrate all of the many things that we are thankful for. I know I have a pretty long list of what I am thankful for. A lot of us do. What I also want November to mean for many people is to remember that not everyone has a lot to be thankful for. As Christians, God tasks us with remembering this and taking action. Proverbs 31:8 says, “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” And in Matthew 25, Jesus uses a parable to teach us that when we feed the hungry, take in strangers, take care of the sick, and others, we are doing this for Him! And, conversely, when we choose NOT to do these things, Jesus says, “whatever you did not do for one of these, you did not do for me.”  My prayer is that there will be a time that we won’t have an orphan crisis to talk about. That we will have so many parents ready to step in and be a family for those who need it, people who are ready to help finance adoption, and people who are willing to come alongside those families by loving, encouraging, and supporting them that there will be no need for an adoption awareness month or orphan Sunday reminder. So, this month, as you are celebrating how much we have to be thankful for, I pray that you’ll remember some of the orphans who are going through life alone without much to be thankful for and pray about how God wants to use you and your gifts to care for the “least of these.”  ​