adopted

Andrew & I spent the past weekend at a conference on orphan care. We weren't sure what to expect but really had a great time hearing from so many people who are working both locally and globally to love as Christ calls us to love and to care for the fatherless. More thoughts on all this later but I will share a bit from one of the sessions I went to. The topic was "honor your father & mother" and was a conversation centered on how to incorporate & honor Simeon's birth family, culture, and country. Much of the talk was on talking to your children about their adoption story. The woman who led the discussion was adopted from Vietnam and continued to press the importance of letting the child lead, creating a safe and positive environment in which he can ask questions, and showing him we will always be there to listen and love. Over the last two years since we began the process of bringing Simeon home I have thought A LOT about his birth mother and how we would share his story with him. What questions will he ask? When will he ask them? How can we ever convey to him the depth of our love for him? Over and over I am brought to Scripture that brings me back to the same truth...I too am adopted. I was chosen, sought after, redeemed. I am an heir to the kingdom of God my Savior and no one can snatch me from His hands. I belong to His family. I am written in the palms of His hand. When I was pregnant with Anna, Madeline asked me often why Anna was in my tummy and if she had been in my tummy. This didn't exactly prompt Simeon to ask (he didn't really care) but it made me think of how I would respond to him. Later, when Madeline asked if Simeon was in mama's tummy I knew what I wanted Simeon to know in the depths of his heart for all his life. No, he was never in my tummy. But God placed him in my heart. He is our family. He is an heir. He carries our name and no one can snatch him out of the love we have for him. His name is written in my heart. My prayer for him, and all my children, is that they would experience the joy of redemption and adoption by our Heavenly Father when they believe and call upon His name for salvation.

"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands" Isaiah 49:16

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to be children of God" John 1:12

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."
Galatians 4:6-8