Why We are Adopting-Part 2

You don't become an adoptive parent by chance. Every adoptive parent I have ever met has had a journey. You come to a place in your life and you just know it is something you have to do. Then you look back and realize how God has ordered your steps.

Several months after the loss of our first child, we moved to Indiana. We decided to look into adoption again. I really didn't know if I wanted to get pregnant again because I did not want to go through the heartache I had recently experienced. Again nothing was really working out and once again I found myself pregnant. I was so apprehensive and nervous. I was doing my best to trust God every step of the way, even if HE decided to take this baby home to be with Him.

At six weeks I miscarried. My heart was broken. I truly did not understand why God was allowing all this to happen. We had been told we would not be able to have children, then we got pregnant TWICE and both times the Lord saw fit to take them to Heaven. This was not what I signed up for.

Finally in 2006, a family in our church felt God calling them to be foster parents. They asked us if we would be willing to take the classes and become foster parents with them. In all honesty, if they had not asked us we might still be childless. Scott struggled with the idea of having children that were not his flesh and blood. The idea of having our very first child not be "biological" was very hard for him. I honestly believed he agreed to take the class because he couldn't stand to see my tears.

Scott watched me struggle through every Mother's Day. To me Father's Day was worse because I felt that I was failing my own husband. He held me while I cried and begged God for a child. He walked with me through the grief and pain of losing our children. He was so wonderful and supportive and I believe he struggled in silence more than I will ever know.

After taking the foster care classes and doing our home study we were licensed. God had brought us to a wonderful agency and we waited. Then the phone began to ring. We were very specific in what we felt we could handle. We wanted younger children who were pre-adoptive. This meant these children would be available for adoption or were ready to be adopted. I did not want my home to be a revolving door for children. My heart just couldn't handle it. We said no to so many children. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but God was saving the perfect child for us.

There are more than 500,000 children in foster care in North America. Almost 145,000 are available for adoption. Last year 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family. (Dave Thomas Foundation) In 2008, there were 11,401 children in the foster care system in INDIANA. Only 1,183 were adopted.(http://www.childrensdefense.org/)

The Bible COMMANDS us as Christians to care for the fatherless and the orphans. If that isn't a good enough reason for you, I bet I can come up with 145,000 more.