Have you ever thought that you might want to adopt a child?  Unfortunately, this world, even this nation is full of children that need a good loving home.  Many come from parents who, for whatever reason, decide that they can’t handle being a parent.  Sometimes it is a financial problem that keeps them from providing for their child.  Far too often it is emotional instability and immaturity that leads to sweet innocent children being left in the care of the state.  While there are often many people looking to adopt an infant, sadly there are many more children who are older and just as much in need of love, care and attention.

Foster parenting steps in to help fill the gap for some children who have become wards of the state and when a child is lucky enough to be placed in a good loving foster home, it is a blessing for the child and for the family.  If you think you may want to adopt a child, joining the foster parent program in your state could be a great first step.

In our church we have many families that are foster parents and many of those have ended up adopting the children that have been placed in their care.  Our youth pastor has six children (working on seven) in his home.  Three are his natural children and three he has adopted.  The prayers of our church I believe will move God to work out the obstacles standing in the way of adopting the second little girl who is the sister of the one girl they have already adopted.  God is big on adoption you know.

There are many reasons one might consider adopting a child.  In some relationships, one partner or both might be sterile or unable to have a child by natural means for other medical reasons.  Some people, like my pastor and his wife, have their own children but want to open up their home to other children who need love and direction in their life.  Sometimes even older couples who have already raised their own children realize that they still have so much to give and will seek to adopt another child.

When you adopt a child you have the honor and privilege of changing that child’s entire future.  The impact is enormous.  Suddenly, a child who has lost hope, has hope restored.  A heart once afraid to love and care, begins to open up to emotions they long since buried.  A spirit whose trust has been broken, learns to trust again.  You can give a child a second chance at life when you choose to adopt a child.  Is there any greater expression of love than that?  Let your heart be the judge as I share a story from a friend below.

“My husband and I were blessed with the miracle of having a daughter. We were thrilled from the very first moment that we discovered that we were pregnant and she still continues to amaze us. Our very best friends cried when we said that we were having a baby. Unbeknownst to us, they had been trying for two years to get pregnant and had been unsuccessful. Once they revealed their lack of pregnancy woes, we all cried together. They then decided to spend entirely too much money on trying to get pregnant. Another year later, they added it all up and discovered that the funds that they had spent could have been used to adopt a child and pay all the fees.

My husband was adopted as a child. At the age of seven, he entered into a very loving family and because that family wanted to adopt a child, he had the chance to succeed in life. Had they not wanted to adopt a child, he may have turned out to be a very different person. At our baby’s first birthday party, they stayed to help us clean up. We began the conversation about adoption and by the time they left, they had decided to look into bringing foster children into their lives with the hope of being able to adopt a child. Two months later, they found themselves with a little boy in their household. They had no idea if his stay would be for a day or for a year. He won over their hearts and ever so quickly, they found themselves catering to his every need. They began to cling to hope that he would become a permanent part of their family.

A year later, that little boy was still in their household. They had also brought a little girl into the family as well, and their hopes of being able to adopt a child were simply soaring. Their caseworker informed them that the adoption process could be started very soon and they knew that they could finally make that child’s presence in their lives permanent. It is six months later and their adoption is about to be finalized. They will have the son that they have always longed for. They’re hoping to be able to call the little girl a part of their family soon as well.

The choice to adopt a child is one of the best and most selfless decisions that you can ever make. A lot of people have problems with the concept of adoption; they don’t want a child that doesn’t have their blood flowing within them. My thoughts on that? Just because you can give birth to a child or create a child doesn’t mean that you are able to be a parent. Just take a look at all of the children being shuffled from household to household because their parents weren’t able to be a parent to them. Your decision to adopt a child and being able to love and nurture a child goes beyond simply being able to say that you created a child. When you adopt a child, you give that child a chance to have a normal life. My husband was living on the streets before that family made the decision to adopt a child. I cringe when I think about where he may be today. If you choose to adopt a child, you bring an innocent human into your life that doesn’t have a lot of hope. Giving them love, hope and creating a lifetime of memories for them – that goes way beyond simply being able to give birth to a child. That is the true meaning of being a parent.”