Have You Ever Wanted to Adopt?
It has crossed my mind a couple of times.
And sometimes I am somewhat serious as it crosses. Though, not really.
I verbalized this a few weeks ago to Tiffany when the topic of foster care came up on the radio.
She was somewhat surprised, but the discussion trailed off into some unknown and we really haven't discussed it since.
However, a few nights ago, Tiffany was feeling exhausted. She was feeling a little tightness in her throat and had a busy day taking care of her normal duties while babysitting for a neighbor who needed some help. When we put the kids to bed, she stated she wasn't tired, but was ready to sit back for a second.
So we turned on Netflix, and we ended up finding a documentary called "The Human Experience".
It touched both of us as we saw a filmmaker go homeless in NYC, head to Central America to some of the children homes down there, and then headed off to a leper colony in Ghana. Each of the segments had their own story and their own charm, but the segments about the children made me wonder if I am doing enough in this world. One comment made by the filmmaker is that these people he was filming, and 3rd world countries in general, know the purpose of their existence. It is to survive - get enough food, get shelter, and foster relationships. In our world, though we have to take care of these as well, they come at a much smaller cost and we have additional time and means to do other things. So we get confused as to our purpose.
We could go on a big discussion about purposes and reasons for living, using intellectual knowledge, spiritual or religious themes, or some other way of thinking about our purpose. All of which are worthy for discussion. But for lack of time and weary of the discussion topics, I simply believe that once we have taken care of our needs, we ought to look at how to take care of others. Simply put. I don't think there is anything else that gives the same satisfaction.
I am not very good at it, though. So I don't necessarily live what I preach. Thank goodness for Tiffany to help me out in this area. But with that said, people will always be the number one concern on my list. Work, as much as a necessity it is, will always be a means to and end, and for me, never and end in itself. Much to the chagrin of some, I am sure.
But back to the topic at hand... Have you ever considered adoption? I just know that I haven't ruled it out.
Cheers,
Nathan
And sometimes I am somewhat serious as it crosses. Though, not really.
I verbalized this a few weeks ago to Tiffany when the topic of foster care came up on the radio.
She was somewhat surprised, but the discussion trailed off into some unknown and we really haven't discussed it since.
However, a few nights ago, Tiffany was feeling exhausted. She was feeling a little tightness in her throat and had a busy day taking care of her normal duties while babysitting for a neighbor who needed some help. When we put the kids to bed, she stated she wasn't tired, but was ready to sit back for a second.
So we turned on Netflix, and we ended up finding a documentary called "The Human Experience".
It touched both of us as we saw a filmmaker go homeless in NYC, head to Central America to some of the children homes down there, and then headed off to a leper colony in Ghana. Each of the segments had their own story and their own charm, but the segments about the children made me wonder if I am doing enough in this world. One comment made by the filmmaker is that these people he was filming, and 3rd world countries in general, know the purpose of their existence. It is to survive - get enough food, get shelter, and foster relationships. In our world, though we have to take care of these as well, they come at a much smaller cost and we have additional time and means to do other things. So we get confused as to our purpose.
We could go on a big discussion about purposes and reasons for living, using intellectual knowledge, spiritual or religious themes, or some other way of thinking about our purpose. All of which are worthy for discussion. But for lack of time and weary of the discussion topics, I simply believe that once we have taken care of our needs, we ought to look at how to take care of others. Simply put. I don't think there is anything else that gives the same satisfaction.
I am not very good at it, though. So I don't necessarily live what I preach. Thank goodness for Tiffany to help me out in this area. But with that said, people will always be the number one concern on my list. Work, as much as a necessity it is, will always be a means to and end, and for me, never and end in itself. Much to the chagrin of some, I am sure.
But back to the topic at hand... Have you ever considered adoption? I just know that I haven't ruled it out.
Cheers,
Nathan
I loved reading your thoughts on adoption and about what we really "need" in life. I went on a mission trip to Malawi, Africa after I graduated college. The people of Malawi have nothing by our standards. Much of the year, they are lucky if they have one meal a day, a meal that would be equivalent to a really shotty snack in our culture. Yet, the people of Malawi are the happiest people I have ever met. They know what matters in life and what is important...relationships with God, family, and friends. I have never looked at life the same since I was there.
ReplyDelete(Apparently I am too wordy, and I have to comment multiple times...sorry)
ReplyDeleteAs far as adoption goes, Joel and I have been working on adopting two children from Ethiopia for over 1.5 years now. We had always discussed adoption as a way to grow our family. With a nudge from the Lord, we finally heard the call 1.5 years ago. It was as clear as day what He wanted us to do. Now, we are just trying to be patient with His timeline.
People often say to us once they find out that we are adopting from Ethiopia things to the affect of "that is so great that you are saving those children." My thought is no, it is so great that the Lord is blessing us by bringing these children into our life. Though there are over 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone living in horrible conditions, I don't think knowledge of this is reason enough to adopt. One must truly want to parent these children for the rest of their lives, not just "save" them.
I definitely encourage you to keep prayerfully considering adoption and/or fostering children. What could be a greater gift for everyone involved than the gift of unconditional love for a lifetime?
Zack and I love the idea of adoption. Until last August it appeared that would be the only option for us to be able to achieve our goal of having children brought into our family in this life. But even with the birth of Warren we don't rule out adoption, he tells me there are too many children without a home to rule it out completely. We have seen the joy adoption and foster care can bring to all involved, it can be an amazing journey. I love having a partner in life with such a great heart, just as I am sure both of you do too. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement. I think we all ought to consider it and never really close down the option. Jill - thanks for your experience. I know of a few people who have considered adoption, but even fewer that actually did it. Each one saying the same thing as you say here... They get more out of it than the children do.
ReplyDeleteYes, thought about it for years then started the process. By step 3 of the process-the home study, Savannah was on her way and the adoption piece halted for good; well kind of. Just 2 weeks ago, by marrying their mother, I in a sense adopted to little girls to go with the two I already have! Not a legal adoption and perhaps a nice way to do it since their birth father will support most of their financial and emotional needs while I supplement some of that too as a "father figure" in their live and in their home. But then its kind of weird, I then turn around and offer that same support to my two little girls who, in the near future some other dude will come along, enter into their home as a "father figure," supplement some of the support that I deliver and he too will in essence "adopt" them. Interesting how that works....
ReplyDeleteMy sister adopted 2 cute little boys from Guatamalla. She had 5 kids and felt like there were still some missing and couldn't have any more so they adopted. It has been a great!
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