Below is a letter my sweetheart of an introvert husband sat down and wrote to share with our church about our adoption. I may have cried a little bit when he first shared this with me. To be honest, I have spent so much time talking about adoption and, sadly, little time letting him think about his own take on it. It was really beautiful to see him share his heart a little bit. Oh, how I wish I had a transcript of what he added when our pastor brought us forward to pray for us.
Dear Church Family,
Do I feel called to adopt? Well, I know my wife is called to adopt. Ever since I met her, she's talked about adopting a child from Asia. In the back of my head I figured it was a fad -- linked to some cute Korean kids she was an ESL tutor for while she was in college -- and that after she had a couple of her own kids she would grow out of it. Well, four kids of her own and 10 years later she hasn't been able to shake the idea.
I love my wife and the more I spend time with her, her interests become my interests. For instance, I grew up overseas in a third world country without TV, especially American TV. Well, Becky frequently quotes movies in conversation and when we first started dating I had no clue what most of the quotes meant or where they came from. Today, I still don't know where some of the quotes come from, but I find myself recycling those same quotes in conversations with her and other people. I think those of you who are married can relate to that. So, even though I am a little nervous about a fifth child running around the house, I have warmed up to the idea over the years for a number of reasons.
First, my family is my primary area of ministry. It’s also probably the hardest. Having another child in the house adds to the responsibility, but it also opens up the possibility of being able to lead them to the feet of Christ. I have a long way to go to become proficient at this but, as a believer and a Dad, I have an obligation to find ways to keep the gospel in front of my kids. This should happen through the way I live my life, treat my wife, the words I speak, the things I place a lot of importance in. . .all in addition to feeding them God's word.
Second, we were adopted by God when we didn't deserve help. I see this as another opportunity to reciprocate God's unconditional love for us through Christ in a very practical way, to our adopted child as well as our other children and our friends.
It is also another way in which, with your help, I get to make one of my wife's dreams come true. I’m thinking major brownie points here. So, even though the idea to adopt started with my wife, God has used her and this body of believers (particularly Clint and Jennifer) to push me over the edge. Now, I’m just as anxious as my wife to learn who God has planned for our fifth child.
