Serious about our Journey

We have met our fair share of supporters in response to our adoption journey...and we have met our fair share of nay-sayers...

Obviously my gratitude and humility and overflow of emotions is hard to hide in response to the support and encouragement we have received the past few months from people we know, people we love, people we have only recently known, and people we may not ever know this side of life.

But...

What I have had a hard time responding too is the people who question our decision to adopt a child with special needs, half a world away.  I have only resolved to pray for these people, not that their minds would be changed, but that God's love would abound within them.

That is, until now...

I feel like I just haven't had a real good come-back, a real good reasoning, a real good explanation, and/or a real good attitude about this questioning of our actions.  I realize I could go into the politics of adopting a child Internationally versus domestically, or go into the ethics of adopting a 'healthy' child over a 'special needs' child, or go into the reasoning for our decision to raise funds for our adoption, or go into the thought process we went through in relation to giving up our 'future' by having a child with special needs...but I refuse.  Nothing will be accomplished through this.

Here is what I do know.  I have been a Believer in Jesus the majority of my life.  But I have only recently understood what it means to live a sold-out, no holds-barred life for Him.  Upon this realization and understanding of who God really is, have I begun to grasp how He desires for me to live and be in this life.  First, he requires us to commit to believe whatever He says.  In other words, you have to say 'yes' to the words of Jesus before you even hear them.  Second, you have to commit to obey whatever you hear.  The Bible requires a response.  We are not only to ask "what is God saying to me?"....but "what shall I do?"  Through these two ideas, have I only begun to understand that the purpose for my life transcends the country and culture I live in. But most importantly that my (our) meaning is found in community and my (our) life is found in giving of ourselves for the sake of others.  (not my own selfish desires)

So to put it simply...I don't know why God called us to adopt a child with special needs in another country...but I do know that God called us to defend the cause of the orphans, no matter where they live and who they are.  I do know that God requires us to respond to His calling, no matter what the cost, sacrifice, and/or lack of understanding.  And I do know that He calls us to work together for the good of those (me and you) who love Him and to love one another. 

And as a result I am just beginning to experience what it feels like to do God's will, to step out in faith doing something that other people do not understand, to let go of all personal aspirations, goals and dreams, to live fully for Christ.  And let me tell you, there is nothing like it! 

Only pure, undying joy, love, and purpose.

That's what I know. So from now on, if you have a question about what we are doing, know that I am praying for you, and that I don't expect you to understand...just that God called us to this little boy and we are responding.