Some Thoughts about Adoption

Reading our posts recently we realized that we made the mistake of not mentioning about the submitting of our dossier.  The dossier was submitted to the SDA (State Department for Adoptions) in the Ukraine on August 11th.  They will then send word through the agency of their decision and our date for travel.  Please be in prayer for the Lord to lead and for His sovereign direction and provision for all that we need.  

I was reflecting on adoption recently.   Adoption is such a perfect picture of the human situation and the need of safety, security, identity and belonging.  Through Christ's death in our place He made the sacrifice to bring man into a right relationship with the Father and thus provided for all of these things.  The Spirit of God indwells the believer and so this brings assurance, safety and security.  As a prospective adoptive father, I know that the Lord has placed deep in my heart the desire to give the love of the Father to these children, just as we have strived to do for our 4 biological children.  

We try to keep in mind that the end goal in this adoption process is not just to bring them home, though that is certainly a big part of it and looms before us in a huge way.  No, the end goal is to bring them into our family and parent them so that they experience and learn that they are our children in the same way as Tiffany, Kevin, Jason and Kelly are our children. Another is that they will come to know and experience the love of Christ and our Heavenly Father through the love of their new family members.  It is our hope that we will be able to teach them the character qualities of courage, honesty, caring for people (love) and stewardship.  These are the big four character qualities that effect all good qualities in a person.  I see examples for myself in Ephesians where Paul tells me to "clothe yourself in Christ".   In 2 Peter 1,  Peter reminds me and stirs me up (verses 12 and 13) to a greater understanding that I must add to my faith the qualities of moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.  If I do not add these qualities to my faith then I am so short-sighted as to be blind, because it means I have forgotten about my former state and situation.  It is out of my own growth in Christ that I'll be able to pass on to all my children the ability to know Christ and know they are loved by our Heavenly Father.

We hope to speak on the phone with V and B soon as the children will be brought back to the orphanage from a summer camp this week so they can begin school again.  Pray that we'll be able to get further information about B's physical condition.  More later.  Thanks for praying.