My friend and I were sitting on a tree stump, watching our kids play together, and having a heart to heart. While we were talking, she reminded me of times over the years when she recalled me alluding to or clearly stating that I wouldn’t be having any more children. She remembered a particular time so clearly that she could even recall where I was standing.
Oh, I knew she was right. For years I’ve said that our two boys were all we would have. The first couple of years after our oldest son was diagnosed with Autism seemed to make that even more apparent for us. We felt we were giving all we had and were stretched thin. Of course, it has
never been within our own ability to face the many challenges of parenting the two intelligent, energetic boys we have. It’s always had to be Christ in us. During the moments we’ve forgotten that fact, the insanity quickly reminds us!
Even now, as I look back I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9:
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
You won’t have to look hard at our little family of four to find big faults, several shortcomings, and a multitude of imperfections. But one thing you will hopefully also find is hearts that long to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel”, extend “the ministry of reconciliation”, and to “go and make disciples”. We’ve certainly missed the mark time and time again, but at our core, it is who we endeavor to be.
In seeking to consistently make our family available to God, we’ve often gone in directions we did not expect. Most recently, over the past few years, God has brought some common themes to our attention with a new urgency and intensity that would once again take us in a new direction…
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…” (Luke 12:48)
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” (Joshua 4:24)
“Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
From these truths, some specifics began to emerge. One thing (of many) that has become clear is God’s love for all people created in His image, His concern for the fatherless, and His charge to care for them. Over time, in different ways, the Holy Spirit made clear that adoption was a direction in which God was leading us, so we began to pray more and more for God’s confirmation. While I trust that God will continue to guide us in these truths in more specific, tangible ways, this is where He has chosen to lead us for now. This is only one chapter in God’s story for our family, and I find confidence in knowing He orchestrated it all and that He will be with us through each step along the journey.
Through this process, I pray that God will use it to make Himself known. It has become clear to me over the past year that adoption is a living-breathing picture of the Gospel. Ephesians 2 and Galatians 4 speak of God’s great love and how He brought us out of our detrimental state and into His family through the blood of Christ. I long to see that very thing come from this adoption process: the Gospel demonstrated!
Oh, I knew she was right. For years I’ve said that our two boys were all we would have. The first couple of years after our oldest son was diagnosed with Autism seemed to make that even more apparent for us. We felt we were giving all we had and were stretched thin. Of course, it has
never been within our own ability to face the many challenges of parenting the two intelligent, energetic boys we have. It’s always had to be Christ in us. During the moments we’ve forgotten that fact, the insanity quickly reminds us!
Even now, as I look back I am reminded of Proverbs 16:9:
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”
You won’t have to look hard at our little family of four to find big faults, several shortcomings, and a multitude of imperfections. But one thing you will hopefully also find is hearts that long to live “in a manner worthy of the gospel”, extend “the ministry of reconciliation”, and to “go and make disciples”. We’ve certainly missed the mark time and time again, but at our core, it is who we endeavor to be.
In seeking to consistently make our family available to God, we’ve often gone in directions we did not expect. Most recently, over the past few years, God has brought some common themes to our attention with a new urgency and intensity that would once again take us in a new direction…
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…” (Luke 12:48)
“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)
“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.” (Joshua 4:24)
“Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
From these truths, some specifics began to emerge. One thing (of many) that has become clear is God’s love for all people created in His image, His concern for the fatherless, and His charge to care for them. Over time, in different ways, the Holy Spirit made clear that adoption was a direction in which God was leading us, so we began to pray more and more for God’s confirmation. While I trust that God will continue to guide us in these truths in more specific, tangible ways, this is where He has chosen to lead us for now. This is only one chapter in God’s story for our family, and I find confidence in knowing He orchestrated it all and that He will be with us through each step along the journey.
Through this process, I pray that God will use it to make Himself known. It has become clear to me over the past year that adoption is a living-breathing picture of the Gospel. Ephesians 2 and Galatians 4 speak of God’s great love and how He brought us out of our detrimental state and into His family through the blood of Christ. I long to see that very thing come from this adoption process: the Gospel demonstrated!