So imagine my surprise when Sarah and I started talking about another child a couple of months ago. Sarah has struggled with wanting to carry another child, and I have struggled with the idea of long nights, poopy diapers, etc. However, one other thing we have wrestled with over the past two years is the idea of adoption. We've talked about it on and off for that long, but we always managed to have an excuse not to proceed. And then, August came.
August marked the end of my 7th summer in real estate. I got into real estate in the summer of 2007 when the market began to slow, and, within a year, we were struggling as a commission family in a market that was in turmoil. Fast forward to this summer, and we have a rebounded market. Why tell you this? It was my crutch for not going through with adoption - financially we weren't capable of supporting another child. Sarah, meanwhile, was having difficulty with the idea of not carrying another child (if we even had another one). It was in August she went to a conference at Dawson led by Jen Hatmaker. Apparently, there was talk of adoption. This led to about a month's worth of discussions between Sarah and me on adoption.
Finally, on a Thursday afternoon, I went online to Lifeline Children's Services and ordered an info packet. "What's the big deal? It's just information, and we don't have to commit to anything." Yeah, I was wrong. Did you know there are over 147 million orphans worldwide? I didn't either until I started looking at the research. Most of these children will never have a chance - no education, no skills, no family. That last one is hard to comprehend. I was raised in a home that valued family. My parents stayed together until my mother's death. I have a close relationship with my sister. We were part of a church family that cared for us and taught us the gospel. I can't imagine my first 16-18 years of life without a mother and father.
We've felt a calling to China and have submitted an application for that country. There are 20.5 million orphans in that country alone. Why? I don't know. I guess it's what many in the evangelical community call a "God thing" is the best way to explain. There are many coincidences - Sarah's brother is fluent in Mandarin, China was the one foreign country my mother went to (she was a big fan of Lottie Moon for you Southern Baptists), but really we just can't get that country out of our mind. It comes back over and over again.
If you notice at the top, I wrote 6. That's because we feel called to adopt 2 - a boy and a girl. One of the biggest reasons for me is I want them to have someone to lean on and understand what they are going through as they grow up. A more self-serving answer is Gracie wants a sister and James wants a brother! But, again, we just feel a calling...a calling from the One Who adopted Sarah and me many years ago. While I was far away from God (as far as an eight year old can be), I felt God call to me. Now I understand that He sought me out and adopted me into His family. Through adoption, God's calling is again lived out. Sarah and I believe we have 2 other children - our children - on this earth. The problem is they are on the other side of the world. We now have to seek them out and bring them home. May God bless us on this journey!
