Rising from the Trenches

The last five months have been hard; probably the hardest yet in my thirty years of life.  But most people would probably be shocked to hear me say that. 

Why? 

Because we finally got to bring our daughter home after three years of waiting and now our whole family is together!  This should have been the best five months of your life!  Full of so many firsts. First time meeting family and friends, first time playing in the snow.  First time eating pizza, first time riding a bike and the first time at the zoo.  Yes all those moments were wonderful and picture worthy.  But don’t be fooled by the highlight reel.  In between all these picture perfect moments, is real life.  That’s where this story comes from today, in between the highlights.     

                     

                                   

During those three years of waiting for our daughter to come home I would dream of how it would feel to finally hold her.  How perfect it would be to hug all five of our kids together in the airport.  What it would be like to have her sit at our table.  When someone would ask, ‘Does she speak English?”  I would smile and laugh light-heartily as I said, “No, we are just going to play charades a lot for the first few weeks.  It will be fun!”  (HA! Just in case you’re wondering charades during family game night = fun.  Charades all day long for thirty days in a row = not fun. And Yes I have many more gray hairs from all the charades)  Did we have funny moments?  Yes.  Did we always understand one another?  No.  Did we all learn something new every day?  Yes!  However, the truth is all those warm and fuzzy feelings I dreamed of when we were waiting, ended about 72 hours after our plane landed and we have been in the trenches ever since.  We are just now beginning to lift our head to see if the enemy has relented or if we need to cover our heads again for another few weeks, or months. 

But, Paige what are you talking about?  Your family is beautiful, your kids are adorable!  You answered God’s call to adopt and she’s home.  What do you mean you are in the trenches? 

Well folks, let me tell you a little about the reality of adoption.  First let me say this, I love adoption!  I am so, so thankful God called our family to adopt.  I love my sweet African babies with every ounce of my being.  I love all the friends God put in my circle through the journey of adoption.  I pray that many more people would obey the call to adopt because there are SO. MANY. ORPHANS. 

But over the last year, God has opened my eyes a little more to a truth I didn’t have the eyes to see before.  The truth about adoption. 

The truth is adoption was never the original plan.  The original plan was that God blessed a mother’s womb to bear that child and raise that child in that family.  But for over 143 million children that doesn’t happen.  The original family is torn apart for a variety of reasons and adoption enters as a second choice. 

The truth is every adoption starts with pain, with loss, a deep, deep loss.  Over the past five months I have witnessed my sweet seven year old daughter go through pain no child should ever know. I have seen tears caused by a pain so deep a hug couldn’t begin to reach.  I have watched her fight against love because she isn’t sure she can trust anyone….ever.  I have witnessed her eat everything in sight because she isn’t sure if tomorrow there will by any food to fill her belly.  I have held her while silent tears slipped down her cheeks because there were no words to describe how deep the pain goes. 

The truth is, adoption is hard. 

During this time I asked God over and over, “Did we make a mistake?  Is it supposed to be this hard?  Is this what You had planned?” 

And one day He gently replied, “No.” “No, this isn’t what I had planned.”

“What?” I responded, not so gently.

He continued to speak to my spirit, “No, you didn’t make a mistake because I called you to this but I never said it would be easy.”

But my heart screamed, “God, what are you talking about?  Adoption is part of the gospel.  You tell us to take care of orphans. We are adopted into the family of God through Jesus.  What do you mean adoption wasn’t your original plan.” 

And again He gently responded, “Adoption is how I work all things together for good for those who love me but it wasn’t my original plan.”

Then the scriptures began to unfold before my eyes.

His plan was the family.  (Genesis 2:24)

His plan was to walk and talk with man and woman in perfect 

communion. (Genesis 2:8-25)

His plan was that they would be fruitful and multiply.  (Genesis 1:28)

His plan was for man to trust and obey his words so they could live forever in Eden with Him.  (Genesis 2:15-17)

His plan was for a mother and father to raise a child up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, teaching that child the Lord is their faithful provider.  

(Ephesians 6:4 & Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

His plan was to give men free will so they could choose to love Him because a gift that is demanded is no gift. (Leviticus 22:29)

His plan was for families to live in community, to help one another in times of trouble and rejoice in times of joy.  (Acts 2:44-45)

But men choose differently.  Man chose to disobey and sin entered.  From the beginning Jesus and God knew what man would choose so they made a plan of redemption.  A plan for man to be able to get back to God but it would not come without great pain and sorrow.  Just as God made a way for all believers who called on His name to become children of God; He promised orphans He would not leave them.  Adoption makes a way for them to get back to a family; but it doesn’t come without great pain and sorrow.  If you’re like me you will have to chew on this for a few days and then become totally wrecked when it finally takes root and your eyes are forever opened.  Then you will spend the next few days (OK weeks) grieving over all of the families torn apart for reasons so preventable.  Reasons like disease, dirty water, and lack of food.

Oh God, what can I do?  How can I help families stay together?  How can I help other kids stay with their first families instead of searching for families to take care of the millions of orphans?  And His answer came loud and clear. 

Be their VOICE.  Be my AMBASSADOR.  Be the CHURCH. 

Use what I have given you and give cheerfully, for I love a cheerful giver.  If you see someone hungry, give them food.  If you see someone thirsty, give them something to drink.  If you see a stranger, invite them in.  If someone needs clothes, clothe them.  If someone is sick, look after them.  If someone is in prison, go visit them.  To whom much is given, much will be required. 

Most of you reading this, live with much.  You might disagree because you don’t live in a big house, drive your dream car, or haven’t bought the latest iPhone but do you have food, water, and a bed to lay in at night?  Then you are richer than 80% of the people in our world right now.

God opened my eyes and I can’t close them and pretend these realities don’t exist.  Am I still for adoptions? ABSOLUTELY!  There will always be a need for people to open their hearts to children who have lost their birth families, but what if there is another way we, The Church, can reduce the 143 million orphans? No parent should ever have to give up their child because they don’t have food.  Not when I throw away all the crust on my children’s sandwich or the leftovers everyone is tired of eating.  No mother should watch her child die in her arms just because she doesn’t have access to clean water.  Not when I can turn on one of the five, FIVE water faucets in my house and have fresh, clean water whenever I want.  We can change the world.  We just have to decide to open our eyes and truly live the faith we proclaim. 

What if we were all willing to give something to our hurting brothers and sisters around the world so they had enough food to feed their family?  What if we gave up going out to eat one time a month so a family didn’t have to make a choice to either give their children to an orphanage or watch them starve?  What if we gave up going to a movie or Starbucks or even cereal (hey, it’s expensive) to give a mother access to clean water so her family wouldn’t get sick and then have no doctor within miles.  With the money we saved could we sponsor one more child?  Could we support one more missionary?  Could we financially support a ministry providing wells to villages around the world?  These realities exist every day and if you’ve read this far, now you know too.  The question is what will you do?

I invite you on a journey with me.  A journey to be their voice.  The voice for millions of children who need a family.  The voice for millions of mothers praying for food or healing for a sick child. The voice for millions of fathers praying for work so he can bring something to all the empty bellies in his home.  I am on a mission.  I want to know how everything in my life can be working towards changing the world.  How can I be a smarter consumer?  To care about who is making my clothes, shoes, and every other product in my home?  Are they made by companies who use child labor or are they made by companies who pay a fair wage to working men and women around the world?  Yes those items might cost a little more but can I give up a convenience like television or air conditioning so I can afford to spend three extra dollars or ten extra dollars to know a child is at home with his mother or in school learning rather than in a sweat shop making my shirt?

But Paige, you can’t change the world all by yourself.  No, I can’t, that’s why I’m telling you.  That’s why I will continue to be the King’s page, His servant, until there are no more orphans or Jesus takes me home. 

That is the purpose of this blog.  To share with anyone who will listen how you can change the world right from your front door.  In the posts to follow I will share about many organizations needing more supporters, more prayer partners, more financial partners in order to change the world for the people God has asked them to care for.  There are many ways we can get involved, many organizations needing help.  I will share about the organizations I am familiar with and the ones I discover along the way.  Because the truth is He will not hold us guiltless.  “They said, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty, or a stranger or needing clothes, or sick or in prison, and did not help you?  He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did NOT do for one of the least of these, you did NOT do for me.’  Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

I pray that the Lord will open your eyes to see Him moving and open your ears to hear His voice. 

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”          Ephesians 6:19-20