Spirit of Adoption

Mandy and I have dealt with many different reactions about our story of adoption. Honestly, most of these reactions have been extremely positive but we have run into some that have been negative. As of late, it seems I am being questioned even more about our decision to adopt a child of a different race. I find myself really struggling with how to respond to these people in a loving non frustrating way.

I can understand its only natural to want to have children through birth. Giving birth is natural and was designed by God to come out of a loving relationship with your spouse. I am assuming thats why people struggle with the idea of "adoption" so much. We all yearn for things to work the way we supposed they were designed to work from the beginning. However, we live in a broken world. God has commanded us to be fruitful and multiply and has told us that procreation and adoption are equally God-ordained ways of fulfilling this command. Adoption is just as natural as procreation, if we expose ourselves to orphans. In the same way that God makes a place for us in his family through adoption, God wants orphans to experience the permanence of being placed into a family and having their deepest desires fulfilled as well

To me parenting is much more than blood lines. A biological child is not guaranteed a secure realtionship with his/her parents. I see this everyday in education. When you consider it from a relational perspective, parenting is really about trust, time, and committment, which amounts to love. These aspects of parenting are beyond blood. Adoption is God's perfect plan for transforming orphans into sons and daughters, regardless of skin color, who are set in families to His divine purpose in a broken world.

Cohen is the greatest thing that has ever happened to Mandy and I. The adoption of Cohen was definitely Gods Perfect Plan for Mandy and I. We are certain of that!

Eric