Why We Want to Adopt

I'm always torn between sharing info on our lives with others and keeping it to ourselves. As a therapist I love listening to others. I love and appreciate the confidence people place in me to share the most intimate details of their lives with me. I try to show the utmost respect for this. So to post such a deeply personal blog as the previous one is pretty difficult for me. In our church, we are given deeply personal blessings as teenagers, usually, that help guide our lives. One brief piece of guidance is to be willing to share with others. And I don't think it just meant my stuff! So that's what I do, on occasion. Maybe too much at times. But we live in a much more open world, the world of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. So at least I'm not alone.

So in that vein, maybe I should fill you in on why adopting a child who needs a permanent home is a part of how we want to spend the rest of our lives. I'd like to, but I am not sure I can. Is it because we are afraid of the empty nest? Maybe. At least some, but we do have quite a large nest to share. Is it because we are worried that it's just the two of us and we have to face each other now the kids are gone? No, because we have always been close. Is it because we are bored? Huh. Boredom? What's that? We have no time for boredom. Is it because we don't REALLY want to spend the last thirty years of our lives traveling the world, going on missions, and enjoying retirement? No, because we STILL hope and plan to get that in too. Is it because our five children, their spouses and nine grandchildren are not enough, somehow? No, because they ARE the light of our lives. But that last reason comes the closest, so far. We love them SO much, and want to share our lives, love, time, energy, and means with another child, or children, even. Because the love just grows.

And the final reason, and the most important reason, relates to who we are at our core. Mark and I love God! We know He's real and that He is a part of our lives. We believe to adopt a child, or perhaps two before we are done, IS what He wants from us. And I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that.

Our experience that is detailed in the previous post includes all but our reasons why this is so important to us. Bottom line, we want to share our love with those who need it, forever, not just for the next few years. And we are grateful to try to do just that.