So Why?

As the major portion of our paperwork phase for the adoption is winding down, my mind begins to sift through the many reasons of why we are doing this.  It is not uncommon to get a puzzled look from others as we tell them what we're doing - as they pause with a struggled look and say, "well that's nice."  Inwardly we can see the inward mental struggle as they try to categorize what we're doing - it's understandable, sometimes we have that same mental struggle.

It began for us last November when our church joined the nationwide observance of Orphan Sunday.  There was an intentioned theme throughout that Sunday morning to focus on the need of the fatherless and God's love for them.  The morning included some moving videos (some of which weren't streaming very well so they stopped every 10 or 20 seconds!).  But through all of what was presented, God stirred up within both of us a desire to adopt.  If Heather could have flown somewhere in the world that day and picked up a child, she would have.  We both realized, we needed to do something - we wanted to do something.  There was an excitement that we had been given.  But what was it that we should do?

The thing that kept going through our minds was the thought that we have so much.  We have so much love in our house, so much joy in our hearts, so much togetherness in our family, so much in the sense of material possessions, so much in the sense of spiritual possessions - we knew we had "room for more."  We wanted to share what we have, to share what God has given us with someone who has nothing.  We wanted to share the love of Christ in a tangible way, to share the Gospel - His good news - with someone who has nothing.  In the same sense that we were orphaned by sin and adopted by Grace, we wanted to adopt a little one into our lives so that that child could be one of us - and could taste the love of God through a family.

God has continued to fan that flame and breathe into us a joy and excitement for chasing after this.  He has stirred us so that we continue on.  He has kept us moving, helped us gather paperwork, given us wisdom when phone calls were necessary, given us strength when we're tired.  It's been an exciting time....and we're really only just beginning.  I'm thankful for the joy that God has given us.  I'm thankful that He has revealed more of Himself to us.

So why then?  It is because we have so much, it is because we have God, it is because we have room for more.