Orphan

Warner Bros. has just released a new horror movie called Orphan. It proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me share with you some of my experiences and thoughts on orphans and adoption.

When I was thirteen years old a family from my parents church sent the youngest of their four children off to college and then had four more children through adoption. The first two that they brought home were sisters, aged three and six, that had been found in a dumpster. The three year old was in the Sunday school class that I helped in and she melted my heart immediately. I'm telling you, to this day, there is a hole in my heart the shape of a little girl from Korea. Their next two children were young brothers that were also from Korea.

The fact that this couple, at a stage in their life when most people consider themselves to be "free", chose to basically start over with another family of four children, just completely blew me away. I was somehow, at the age of thirteen, in awe of their complete selflessness. And it so touched me that I knew someday, in some way, God was going to have me be a part of the blessing of adoption. Looking back on this situation, with the little bit of wisdom I've gained over the years, I'm sure that life was not all peaches and cream for this couple and their four children. But what I'm assuming was an act of obedience to the Lord on their part, made a lasting impression on me.

Fast forward 20 some odd years - God brought us Mark. This child, this ball of energy and his creativity and enthusiasm and zest for life, his adoration of monkeys and tickles, this child that was prayed for and cried for, is the child that God knew was meant to be in our family. We have been so blessed by him and who God made him uniquely to be and is continuing to make him in to. We also have three biological children that are just as much of a blessing to our family. No more, no less.

I can wholeheartedly say that no, it is not hard to love an adopted child, and by the way, he is my own. Are there days that I'm frustrated and a little thrown for a loop? Absolutely! But those days can, and do, happen with each one of our children. It has nothing to do with how God chose to bring them to our family.

Children are always a blessing, no matter when and how they come in to your family. Some of them just might need a little more, or a lot more, patience, love and grace than others. Some of them have been through more in their short lives than any of us could ever imagine experiencing in our own. I don't believe that means we should turn our backs on them and write them off as a lost cause. I believe those are the children that need us more than anyone else, whether through prayer or adoption or whatever the Lord lays on our hearts.

To quote a fellow blogger,

I understand that many people will see Orphan as simply entertainment. The reality is, however, that we have over 147 million orphans worldwide in need of food, clothing, a home and a family. This movie has the potential of causing incredible parents to run away in fear, leaving yet another child alone and in need. I encourage others to think of what the world would be like if 147 million children grew up into poorly-adjusted adults. Now that, my Friend, would be truly horrifying.

"Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through

Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this.)"

Ephesians 1:5 MSG