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Monday, September 27, 2010

Unbelievably Blessed!

OK, right now I am noticing that my blog is at the bottom of everyone's list as I am finding that I am only capable of posting once a month. But I do want to do at least that much! And I have had this post rattling around in my head for a while. And today is  the day that I am I letting is out.....
Life on this planet is tough. That is just the way it is, we live in a fallen world! All around us people are   hurting , hungry, lost and alone. Most of US (reading this blog) are parents that have had the opportunity to follow God down the path of adoption. We have read the Bible and understand that it is our duty and privilege to care for the orphans of the world in some capacity.  We have experienced the joy and anticipation and thrill of bringing home a child that needed a family. We know how blessed we are to have these hand-picked little ones come into our lives, look up at us and call us Mommy and Daddy. We know that the adoption road can have twists and turns but we can  endure because we LIVE the blessings of adoption on a daily basis. However, what I have been thinking about lately are the women and men that enabled us to become adoptive parents in the first place. For every child that is orphaned , there are a set of biological parents somewhere. For every time an adoptive parent  first gazes at that referral photo on the laptop, a biological mom or dad has surrendered a child because they knew they could not keep it. For every moment of glee in our lives over this new addition to our families , there existed a moment of confusion, terror, and desperation in the life of someone else. It is very sobering. Adoption is a wonderful thing. It is the fulfillment of God's promise to make beauty from ashes. But at its very core is a broken life or heart, probably more than one. But... what really focused me on blessings lately is the fact that, for whatever reason, God picked me and you and most of my blog friends to be the ones to stand in the GAP between hopelessness and hope, between despair and dreams, between life and death... for little boys and girls all over the world. I have thought , lately, that I could have been that mother surrendering my child to an attorney or orphanage because my situation was dire. I could have been the one with the broken heart, longing to hear some word about the state of my child that I left at the gate of an orphanage in a wicker basket at 2 or 3 days old because I could not bring her home to my distraught husband. There are biological mothers all over the world that endure this reality on a daily basis. I could have been one of them....
But I am not. By God 's infinite grace , my spirit was made aware of the need, I was supplied the money , I had access to people in the adoption realm that could make it happen, I had family members supporting us, I had a home and resources that a child would need, I got the adoption shower and well wishes and prayer support, and then..... I got to go and claim this bundle of joy for my own. And now, on a daily basis, I get to watch her grow, I saw her first steps, I get to calm fears and bandage hurts, I get to teach her about Jesus, I get to hear the funny things she comes up with , I get the looks of adoration and the warm hugs and smushy kisses. I get all of this!  Why should one woman get ALL of this??? It is simply unbelievable blessing. I take it for granted too much of the time. But consider this, instead of cyberspace uniting us to blog and compare the ins and outs of adoption ,we could be united by immeasurable loss of a child that we felt we could not keep. I praise God in Heaven for turning His face toward us and blessing our families with the miracle that is adoption, and I lift up the mothers and fathers that actually created these children that we call our own. I praise Him for giving them the courage not to abort and I pray that he will bless their sacrificial hearts.

My friends, we are so unbelievably blessed  (just in case you haven't felt that way lately)....


10 comments:

Karin said...

Love this post! You are so right. We had the privilege of seeing Ryan and Taylor's birth families at the time of adoption, so we saw first hand the heartbreak they endured. I have often wondered about my other kids' birth families and what their circumstances were. I had not given so much thought, tho, about me being the one who could have had to place a child for adoption. I love your perspective and yes...I DID need to hear how blessed I am! :))

sal22nik said...

Thanks for the reminder, Lisa, that we have so very much to be thankful for! :) Eloquently stated, even for those of us watching family members and friends going thru this wonderful journey that God has called them to do!

TWH said...

What a wonderful testimony to the power of the gospel through every facet of adoption, Lisa. God has certainly given you a wonderful ministry of encouragement.

From one of the friends you have who has had the blessing of watching the power of the gospel in and through your life, thank you for the transperancy, and thank you for the constant testimony of the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sophie said...

So true dear friend, we are very blessed to have been given the privilege by our almighty God to care for His most precious creations.

We can also be grateful for the fact that we have not been the mothers to have to face the heartwrenching decision of giving her child away.

Beautiful post.

Kristin Ferguson said...

Welcome back! And boy did you come back with an awesome post! I remember the moment in church where I wept at how grateful I was that God was allowing me and Jim to walk down this path of adoption! It was an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that He would entrust me with such a God-inspired path of obedience!!!

Keep those posts coming!

jody said...

Guess you only need to post once a month, if you save it for a post like this! Well said, my friend! Greg and I have said more than once, if time could stop now, it would be perfect. I know we can not stop time but I do feel like I have slowed it down for a bit by keeping Lily home this year. Best decision! Thanks for the reminder of our blessings and our children loss...

Katie said...

So good to see pictures of the girls! I have missed you all but feels so privileged to have gotten to know your family over the past few years!

Joanie said...

It's been awhile since I've checkout blogs. Your blog is great as always. Love the beach pictures!!!

Goodness and Mercy Mom said...

Oh Lisa,

So beautifully said and just what I needed to be reminded of. So often all I see in our adoption story is us, our child, and God--completely forgetting Daniel's bio. parents.

Our adoptive children come to us in different ways--some because of the death of parents, others due to poverty, some due to special needs that the birth family couldn't provide for, some (as with our case) due to abuse and neglect. But all come to us by His grace and mercy.

Thanks for sharing what's on your heart. Keep writing!

Much Love,
Kathie

Amy said...

Beautiful.