Friday, May 20, 2011

We Don't Feel Special

That is what we keep hearing though. "It takes special people to adopt." We just feel like we are being obedient. James 1:27 is very clear, "take care of the orphans and widows." It doesn't say, if you are rich or if you are not able to have kids then take care of orphans and widows. It simply gives a clear direction. Let me back up a bit.

Joshua and I have always talked about adopting. We talked about it before we had Hudson. We talked then about adopting possibly from China. Fast forward 5+ years and here we are talking about it again only this time we both feel like now is the right time. We started gathering information and praying for direction. God softened both my heart and Joshua's heart toward going through DFCS (Department of Family & Children's Services).

We attended the orientation last week, and we begin the process June 7th, which starts with 6 weeks of training. Then there is fingerprinting, home visits, drug screening, and lots of paperwork.

We are very excited about this process, and excited about the direction God is leading us. We have signed up to be foster and/or adoptive parents.

So, back to not feeling special. We don't. We feel like we are being obedient. I heard a statistic that said there are 147 million orphans in the world! That breaks my heart. There are over 15,000 children in the foster care system in Georgia right now. That breaks my heart. There are just over 4,000 foster families in Georgia right now. That breaks my heart.

Please pray for our family as we begin this journey. We are excited to see how God is going to grow our family.
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5 comments:

Drena said...

wow, how wonderful!

Donna said...

There is a lucky little boy or girl out there about to hit the mommy and daddy jackpot. You two are truly wonderful......

Andy and Mandy said...

I love this!!! God is awesome - watch out! Let me know if I can do anything!!! Love you!!

Natalie at Our Old Southern House said...

i think that's awesome. can't wait to see your next child...or children!
i'm sure dfcs does your home study for you, but if not, i totally recommend the one we worked with.
also, our agency (lifeline) does fostering too--through dfcs--they're an awesome christian-based non-profit out of both columbus and birmingham. i think they do their own training. check out the blog: http://thishighcalling.blogspot.com/ about a great family fostering through lifeline. i heard her speak at a women's event and her testimony was amazing.
good luck--hope your process is speedy--and god bless.

Jessica Cannon said...

Girl, this is awesome!!! Geoff & I talk about doing this all the time. I can't wait to hear all about your journey. we will be praying for the special children God will be bringing into your life! How exciting!