Why Not?

So before his bedtime, Jack and I were on the couch looking at some pictures that New Day sent. Our family had recently sent a care package to one of their new little girls. This particular little girl is 7 years old, and has been recently abandoned. Why? Beats me...but I suspect that her parents knew she would soon die without heart surgery. By looking at her, that is a conceivable notion.

Can you imagine abandoning your 7 year old? For any reason, let alone because you did not want to, but felt you had no choice?

So Jack and I were all snuggled up on the couch looking at our brand spanking new pictures of this little girl opening up her gifts. After we looked at each picture twice, I could tell he was studying the background. The background was a hospital room. He asked why she was there. I told him she was very sick and was there to have surgery on her heart. He asked why it looked like she was trying to smile, but couldn't. (OK, she did look like that, but perhaps that is just the way she does smile? I don't know.) I told him because she is very ill and very sad and it's sometimes hard to smile. Then, he asked the question nobody wants to answer (even more than the 'where did babies come from' question)...Jack says "Wheres are her moma and daddy?"

Candy coating is for m&m's, not life...so I dive in and tell him she does not have parents. I'm sure you can guess his next question.

"Why?"

I'm not exactly sure what I said, but whatever it was he was fine with it. He did not move on with the pictures, but continued to look at the last picture of her standing up with her pretty new nightgown on and her sort of smile. He was trying to process how he has a mom and dad, and she does not, and how we are adopting Evan who will soon have parents. A hard job for a 4 year old. He eventually says, "Hmm, maybe we can adopt her too so Livvy can have a friend." (Friend, meaning a sister) What do I say to him? Here is a list of excuses I could use for this situation, have you ever used one? We have.

She's too old.
Her medical bills might be high
She might have attachment issues
She doesn't know the language
Adoption is so expensive (yes it is, but my God owns cattle on a 1,000 hills)
My husband/wife doesn't want to.
We are too old
We are too young
It will disrupt the birth order
It takes so much time
The paperwork is awful (hey...I'm here to say it's better than pregnancy!)
Isn't there a long waiting list? (not if you don't desire a perfect baby or "minor correctable" needs)

and on and on....

But we all know the real reasons...strap on your steel toed boots, this might hurt.

I like living in a bigger home.
My kids will have to share a room
I enjoy driving a new car
I won't as much free time
My daycare costs will go up
Family vacations will be more expensive
I'll have to deal with doctors more often
I don't want to deal with it.
I'm comfortable where I'm at in life. (yeah? How comfortable do you think orphans are?)

Sorry, and I hope that's not true, and probably isn't of those reading here, but I do see it in people I encounter everyday. It may not be spoken audibly, but it certainly is shouted by the McMansions, the swanky new cars, the covers on the magazines at the check outs, the fast paced life style...the me me me culture of America.

However, we have found that, once we took God out of the nice pretty little box we kept him in, big things start to happen. BIG.

So I told my sweet son that God loves and watches over Hannah (the name of this little girl) and will give her just the right family at just the right time. Perhaps it's our family...perhaps it's yours. His grace is sufficient, and He will keep her in perfect peace.

But for the rest of us, why not? What is a really good reason you cannot adopt? Finances? We took 20% cut in pay after starting the adoption, and have recently sold our home so we can downsize our expenses...and we don't live lavishly that's for sure. How about sponsoring a kid? New Day has a ton of kids anyone can sponsor. Getting the newsletter of the child you are sponsoring will be the best day of the month...regardless if that's the day the mortgage is due. How about helping another family financially with their adoption? My family has been THE BEST bunch of cheerleaders with Evans adoption. My cousin Mary is running in the Chicago marathon as a fundraiser for us. My mom is always trying to lift our burdens.

Though money is a huge factor, dare I say prayer is more important? Pray for the kids who'll not have a mom or a dad tucking them into bed tonight. Pray for them by name...Hannah, Elizabeth, Sadie, Ethan, Melody, Joshua, Cameron, Judah, Peter, Claire, Cora, Owen, Logan, Liam, Raegan, Jamison, Elijah, Aurora, Annie, Adah, Tristen, Faith, Debra, Philip, Addison, Adam, Polly, Trey....and there are many, many more. These kids are the blessed ones. They are at New Day.

So tonight Jack had a mom tucking him into bed, but Hannah did not.