I felt I needed to blog about a few things that have been weighing on my heart lately.......
Recently, someone told us that they didn't agree with what we were doing and they couldn't "support" us. They didn't understand why we aren't adopting from the United States and they said "charity starts at home". Well, my home is in Heaven. This place is my temporary home. God wants us to care for orphans. He did not say, "only orphans that live near you." It really shocked me because this person is a christian. We are changing an orphan's life. It doesn't matter where she was born. My husband told the couple that God led us to adopt from Ethiopia and that this is His will. They then told him that God doesn't lead you to do things. You choose to do things and if you pray about it, He will make it happen. At this point, I was allowing someone to upset me. This whole journey has been God's plan from the beginning. Yes, God does lead you! God puts things in your heart and as a christian you have the choice to do His will. Unfortunately, by following God and doing His will people aren't always going to agree with what we do. Matt and I do not live in a big house, drive fancy cars, have a lot of money, and we do not have a very supportive family at times. However, we HAVE FAITH. We have two beautiful children, jobs that pay our bills, cars that get us to our destinations, and enough money to survive, and a wonderful supportive church family! Most importantly we have God in our lives. We live for God! It wasn't that long ago that Matt and I just went about living our daily lives without making God the center of it. We finally realized that you can't get the most out of your life without making God our #1 priority! With that said, I have told myself not to worry. God is in control of my life. Matt and I are standing behind our decision to be obedient to God's calling for our family. He wants us to adopt from Ethiopia and we are doing His will. It may not seem practical to many people in our lives, but we are not living for them. We are living for God. One day, we will have our little girl at home with us and she will have a great, Christ-centered life! We will teach her about God, love her, clothe her, make her laugh, and do all the things that one of God's precious children deserves. Most important.....we will change a little girl's life forever!
Our Beautiful Family
"Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans..." Isaiah 1:17a
As a fellow Ethiopian adoptive mom, I have to say the "charity starts at home" line is LAME. First off, what is that person doing to help orphaned kids in the US? Most people who say that line are doing NOTHING.
ReplyDeleteI think your husbands comment was perfect. Adoptive parents ARE led to their children (some have dreams about them before meeting them, others feel undeniable guidance from the holy ghost, etc).
I also think that line comes from ignorant people who don't understand needs around the world. Have they personally seen children die of starvation? Have they seen families living in dumps, sifting through garbage as a way to make a living? Have they seen videos of orphanages?
I applaud you for your perspective. It doesn't matter what people think. You are being led to your daughter who is meant to be in your family. If people don't see it that way, well, it's too bad they are missing out on a miracle.