Many people have asked how the can continue to support our family and adoption journey. First, PRAY, this never hurts and we need all of them. Second, we still have puzzle pieces to sell for our adoption. Look at our previous post for the information. Third, encourage us, we sometimes get bogged down in the paperwork and red tape and lose focus on the final outcome, our SON! Please take a minute to read the article below. It provides some good information on how to support adopting families. As always, we are very thankful for the many wonderful people who have blessed our family with support.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?id=41956
FIRST-PERSON: Encouragement for adoptive parents
Lynette Ezell
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- I remember the first time I realized the love and grace of Psalm 68:6: "God sets the lonely in families." God is a builder, the master of arranging and connecting the pieces of our lives together. And this truth is clearly fleshed out in adoption.
Growing up in a small town did not lend me the model of adoption or multiracial families. In other words, I didn't bring the "know-how" to the table. God alone built our family, just as He's building yours. And if God is the foundation layer and contractor, which I know He is, then He will see our families to completion.
We believe the Lord sees these little ones in this vast, fallen world and knows their every need. He created each of them in His image, for His glory and has a purpose for each of their lives.
Although many seasons of adoption can be difficult and challenging, the mission is undeniable for those of us called to broaden our tents and surrender our families for the sake of the Gospel.
The adoption journey can prove to be long and treacherous. I understand that the road ahead can usher in discouraging days with "What have we gotten into?" moments. When I find myself along that path, I step back and mentally simplify.
OK, so I have a child who may never grasp math or the periodic table of elements. But what I have been entrusted with is a live wire who loves to laugh and sing, who came to our family starving because of parasites, who had a mouth full of rotten teeth and fears so deep that I laid on the floor beside her bed while she slept and begged the Lord to erase the painful memories.
It all became simple the morning she sat beside me and, with passionate tears in her chocolate eyes, asked Jesus to be her forever Savior and Lord. Isn't that the goal, that we take all our children to heaven with us? God is building families for eternity, and He's equipping the weakest of us to do it.
Persistence and patience are tools every adoptive family needs as we navigate the often-frustrating path of adoption. In essence, we've been called to break the mold of the typical family and confidently trust that the Lord sets children in our lives as He so desires.
As we raise our children who we did not birth or maybe even did not meet until they were older, we are a picture to the world of a loving, all-powerful Savior who truly sets the lonely in families. He alone is the master builder of our homes.
Let's keep moving forward together.
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Lynette Ezell is volunteer director of the SBC Adoption Fund. She and her husband Kevin have six children, three of whom are adopted, each from a different nation. For more information on the adoption fund, visit namb.net/adoption. Get Baptist Press headlines and breaking news on Twitter (@BaptistPress), Facebook (Facebook.com/BaptistPress) and in your email (baptistpress.com/SubscribeBP.asp).
