I believe in No Child Left Behind...

I'm going to back up and share a few more details of how our adoption journey took such a radical twist.

So, we decided to adopt. That probably wasn't as difficult as a decision as some might think. We were pretty much hit over the head with the idea and then God undoubtedly confirmed it about three times in three days- it was a wild week. Ethiopia was a place we knew little about- until a good friend shared the story of her missions trip to Ethiopia and suddenly it felt like Ethiopia was everywhere we looked and we were immediately fixated on this beautiful country and its people. Ok, so now we have decided to adopt and the destination will be Ethiopia. Well, I am going to admit that we made a HUGE assumption at this point. OBVIOUSLY, we would adopt a baby right? Isn't that what people do? We kind of forgot to pray about that part- we just assumed- but it seemed smart because we would not be disrupting birth order and would not be parenting an age we had little experience with- and that is obviously something you want to avoid...right?

Well, everything was going along smoothly until we really began researching adoption...and Ethiopia...and suddenly we were confronted with a new concept...the waiting children. I'm going to accept full responsibility for my ignorance when I admit- I had no idea these children existed in the numbers that they do. Sure, there is a need for infant adoption- and yes, I do believe that many are called to pursue infants. Yes, I am a psychology major and do understand the importance of birth order, or at least I try to understand it. However, the more real these children became to me, the harder it was to shake the reality that we really had not taken the time to ask God WHO He had been calling us to adopt.

And then, I came across the three beautiful faces I spoke of here. And my entire understanding of the orphans crisis shifted. As I realized that by requesting an infant we would stand in line somewhere in the 100's I began to question if I was going where God was calling me. Was I really listening or was I avoiding listening because I was afraid that he really would answer? The bible says, "If you need wisdom-if you want to know what God wants you to do-ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer..." (James 1:5-6) Well, when I truly prayed about who God was specifically calling us to....I was quite shocked to find this true- He answered, oh BOY, did He answer. I'll admit, it was tough to wrap my mind around what He was calling us to do...it was so...well, overwhelming. A couple of months passed before I can say as a family- we were ready to move forward. During those months, I can honestly say I felt little peace. God had called us so clearly- and we were stalling because of worldly concerns....but God does not call us to be of this world and the longer I delayed- He only pressed in closer, until I was quite simply a blubbering mess. In many ways, I am thankful for the time I had to truly witness and KNOW a God who is so personal that he would NOT let me go astray....a God who does not leave me in turmoil but brings peace. During that time I asked for signs, anything to make it clear....but I received only the one that answered my original prayer. I waver on whether to share more- but I hold it close as such a personal experience with my God that I have chosen not to today. Just know- it was more than what I asked him to reveal and it was 100% what I needed.

The orphan crisis is about the children who are already suffering, who already need a home...I struggle with writing this because we DO need folks to stand in line for infants- so that eventually, one day, no child is left behind. No child goes even one day without a loving family. We do need families to courageously wait it out, even when wait times lengthen and things get long and hard- BUT- we also need families lining up for the children already waiting. Families diving into potentially messy situations. We need less families waiting and MORE children in forever homes. It's a team effort really...until NO CHILD IS LEFT BEHIND...literally.