I was recently asked to write something about why we chose to adopt for another website that is advertising for our garage sale and found it interesting how God has completed so many of my thoughts on why adoption.
Why Adopt?
We all have a t-shirt that we love to wear for many reasons: it's yellow, it always draws peoples attention and it sparks many conversations. The front says "Why Adopt?". And under that it says "For the Bible tells me so." And it does..James 1:27 says "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world". We love the questions we get and the responses our children give. It makes my heart proud to hear my 8 year old say "We are supposed to adopt, God told us to". The reality is that we were adopted into God's kingdom as son's and daughter's (Ephesians 1:5) and without "adoption" we would live eternity in hell. God makes it very clear that orphans are close to His heart and therefore, they should be close to ours.(John 14:18)
It all started when I was a young girl, God began tugging on my heart about adoption. I have always talked about it and dreamed about it. Keith and I talked about my desire before we were even engaged. Our best friends adopted 3 years ago and we were blessed to be apart of their journey, but it wasn't the time for us. About 2 years ago, I started researching adoption and stalking others blogs. "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act". (Prov 24:12) I would journal about it, pray to the Lord to open a financial door for us, and weep about the orphans out there who needed us. This past December, God opened the doors for us to proceed with this adoption. We have been so blessed since committing in obedience and so overwhelmed with the love that God has for us. I can honestly say, that when you chose to adopt, God will teach you things that he can't teach you any other way than through the adoption process.
There are 147 million chances waiting to show you the love that God has for you!
We would love your prayers as we continue this journey. Specifically:
*That God would get all the glory throughout this process.
*For the garage sale: that the Lord will bring people to the sale that need what we have. For it to bless them as much as it will bless us.
*For the conversations we will have with the patrons of the sale, that they be pure, sincere and full of what the Lord has done for us.
*For our hearts to be ready to give our daughter what she needs and deserves in a forever family.
*For our boys (Matt and Eli) to never feel left out of this process, but for this to draw them in to the heart of our Lord.
*For our little China doll to adjust quickly and for her heart to come to know the Lord.
*For our extended family and friends who may not understand adoption, for them to see God's heart for orphans and to see changes in us that would reveal to them who He truly is.
*For the people in China that we will come in contact with, for them to see something different in our family and for their hearts to be pricked by the Lord's light.
Sincerely,
The McDonald Family
Keith, Mary Margaret, Matt, Eli and soon Avery
www.anotherpairoflittleshoesatthedoor.blogspot.com
www.anotherpairoflittleshoesatthedoor.blogspot.com
