Reece's Rainbow is a non profit organization that advocates for children with down syndrome and other special needs. Reece's Rainbow is awesome. I contacted them and inquired about a little boy with down syndrome listed on their waiting children page. RR then connected me with an adoption agency who informed me the little boy had already found his family. This was wonderful news to hear. The only part of this news that was hard for us was that we had to inquire about another child...
The hardest part for Tim and I was inquiring about a child. It was impossible to look at little faces waiting for a family...and pick one. There could be no wrong choice.
When we inquired about the little boy we did so mainly because he had the least amount of information listed on the website. You may wonder why that would influence us. I am going to share why- and I am doing so to give you an honest look at how we approached this part of the adoption process. It is by no means the only way and I'm sure some would argue it is not the right way- BUT it is the way we handled this aspect of adopting.
When we made the decision to adopt we asked ourselves
How will this decision affect our family?
And
What child could we love and provide for?
The first question was easy, we knew we were called to adopt- of course adopting would affect our family but we were and are confident that God has a perfect plan for our family.
The second question was also easy. Any child. We will love and provide for any child God gives us. The answer is easy.
Then we started looking at children on RR's website. We cried a lot...well I cried a lot- because I was the one looking through... Timmy couldn't even look. We wanted to move forward but this step was the most difficult.
RR primarily lists children with down syndrome, but they also list other children with other special needs. All of the children listed have special needs. We purposefully contacted RR- this is where we felt led. The challenge is we are human and whereas we will love and be ecstatic about the child God gives us- it was hard to see past the needs- to the children. Because we know that their special needs do not define them.
But how do you stop your mind from traveling certain paths? The cost of proper medical care, the challenges to a child who can not walk, the patience required to tend and nurture the emotionally or physically abused.
NONE of those things take away from the value of a child- from the gift of a child- from the child designed by God.
The issue for Tim and I was... we didn't choose the 3 kids we have and we didn't want to choose our next kid either.
SO... we purposefully asked about the little boy whose only line written was- has down syndrome. Not because we were afraid to know or didn't want to prepare...but because we already were prepared. And all those voices, with all those questions of worry- were not the voice we needed to be listening to.
If we trusted in God's call to adopt we had to trust that He had already given us the child we are meant to have. (I know the tenses are messed up in the previous sentence...but it is what I mean..)
And because our God is SO good- before Tim and I could inquire about a different child one was referred to us.
Our adoption agency sent an email with the subject, "How about her?"
Before clicking on the link provided to take us to Marla's bio- our answer was YES. By the end of that week our commitment papers to adopt Marla were sent.
The hardest part for Tim and I was inquiring about a child. It was impossible to look at little faces waiting for a family...and pick one. There could be no wrong choice.
When we inquired about the little boy we did so mainly because he had the least amount of information listed on the website. You may wonder why that would influence us. I am going to share why- and I am doing so to give you an honest look at how we approached this part of the adoption process. It is by no means the only way and I'm sure some would argue it is not the right way- BUT it is the way we handled this aspect of adopting.
When we made the decision to adopt we asked ourselves
How will this decision affect our family?
And
What child could we love and provide for?
The first question was easy, we knew we were called to adopt- of course adopting would affect our family but we were and are confident that God has a perfect plan for our family.
The second question was also easy. Any child. We will love and provide for any child God gives us. The answer is easy.
Then we started looking at children on RR's website. We cried a lot...well I cried a lot- because I was the one looking through... Timmy couldn't even look. We wanted to move forward but this step was the most difficult.
RR primarily lists children with down syndrome, but they also list other children with other special needs. All of the children listed have special needs. We purposefully contacted RR- this is where we felt led. The challenge is we are human and whereas we will love and be ecstatic about the child God gives us- it was hard to see past the needs- to the children. Because we know that their special needs do not define them.
But how do you stop your mind from traveling certain paths? The cost of proper medical care, the challenges to a child who can not walk, the patience required to tend and nurture the emotionally or physically abused.
NONE of those things take away from the value of a child- from the gift of a child- from the child designed by God.
The issue for Tim and I was... we didn't choose the 3 kids we have and we didn't want to choose our next kid either.
SO... we purposefully asked about the little boy whose only line written was- has down syndrome. Not because we were afraid to know or didn't want to prepare...but because we already were prepared. And all those voices, with all those questions of worry- were not the voice we needed to be listening to.
If we trusted in God's call to adopt we had to trust that He had already given us the child we are meant to have. (I know the tenses are messed up in the previous sentence...but it is what I mean..)
And because our God is SO good- before Tim and I could inquire about a different child one was referred to us.
Our adoption agency sent an email with the subject, "How about her?"
Before clicking on the link provided to take us to Marla's bio- our answer was YES. By the end of that week our commitment papers to adopt Marla were sent.
Hi JoLynne! I just heard about your adoption through Donnie and Abby - so excited for you! Also, I found myself nodding in agreement with your words here. Adoption is this strange place where you "get to choose" but want God to do the choosing instead. I know you'll be so blessed by Marla and we'll be praying for you and cheering for you!
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