Last night my wife saw this video in a post on Facebook. Since we have become involved with adoption, we feel like we are a part of a growing adoption community. This video is such a great description of what adoption is. The kids couldn’t be any cuter and their delivery is certainly on point.
As Father’s Day approaches, it is a great reminder of how God wants to be our “really” Dad. Enjoy and share!
In just over a week we will have our final hearing and our adoption will be complete. It is hard to believe that Max has been a part of our family for 6 months and we can’t imagine life without him with us.
In the short time he’s been with us, he’s made a remarkable impact on our family. Max has brought our family together in ways we didn’t anticipate. He has been accepted right away into the family by his siblings. They ask about him, buy stuff for him, make a special effort to see him and spend time with him (and us). He even his own hashtag on Twitter (#MaxMonday). God has used Max to make a difference in our family.
Max has been used to change us in ways we never would have imagined. Just over a week ago, we found out that Max’s birth father passed away unexpectedly. Due to some unique circumstances, Max’s birth father didn’t get the opportunity to meet his son. When we found out about his passing and the subsequent funeral arrangements, we felt like the right thing to do was attend the viewing. My wife and I felt it was important that his birth father’s relatives had the chance to meet him.
We certainly didn’t know what to expect when we arrived, but it was such a time of comfort and healing. The first person we saw was Max’s birth mother and she was grateful to see him. She carried him around and introduced him to other grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and even his great-grandfather. Max’s sweet disposition seemed to bring a sense of peace to the time of mourning.
Several family members and friends came up and thanked us for bringing him. We have been so grateful for Max being a part of our family that it seemed natural to share him with his biological family.
While we didn’t know the whole picture of what adoption would do for our family before we got Max, we never would have imagined this scene. I have to think that God is not done using Max’s story and life to tell His story of love and redemption. Our story is certainly not unique and we are thankful for what He is doing in our family and in the lives of others through adoption.
Over the weekend I was listening to a podcast from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. They recently hosted a guest speaker from Kenya and the podcast included both an interview with him along with his sermon from that Sunday.
In his message he shared three things that everyone needs. One of the focuses he has in his church in Kenya is calling the men of his church and country to be better fathers. Many of the problems they face are due to the lack of involvement of fathers in the lives of their children (sound familiar?).
The three things he focused on were these:
Acceptance – Affection – Affirmation
He made the point that each person needs to be accepted for who he/she is, each person needs affection expressed through words and actions that communicate love and each person needs affirmation through being celebrated. God has placed that in each person’s heart.
What happens so many times is that people don’t have those needs met. Either through absent parents or disconnected fathers, children don’t receive the acceptance, affection and affirmation they need. There is a void in a person’s life when those things are given. And those unmet needs can impact how a person looks at God.
The good news is that we have a heavenly Father who is able to meet those needs in our lives. Whether he had awesome parents or absent parents, God wants to love us as a Father.
The speaker also shared these keen insights about our Father’s love. When we look at our Father, we see that . . .
His message was a great reminder that we all have the same basic needs. Whether from the United States, Kenya or anywhere else, God has wired us to need and search for those three things. And all of those things can be found in Him – a Father who gives acceptance, affection and affirmation to His children.
I just came home from a great evening with some friends after watching a fabulous game of basketball. It wasn’t a play-off game of any sort. It was the Shooting Stars, a local team consisting of young men and women put together by our county MRDD. It was heart warming. These young people, all hampered by some sort of developmental challenge, played the game of basketball. Sure some traveled, some double dribbled, many times the ball was lost out-of-bounds, but many also took great joy in a basket made or, better yet, a basket made by someone else.
After the game, several of the players, cheerleaders and families went to the local Big Boy to eat. We were sitting at table with about 10 people. One of the Shooting Stars players, a young girl, came around and gave a hug to everyone seated there. Some she knew personally; most she did not. But to her, everyone was a friend. Everyone seated there was someone she cared about and was deserving of a hug or a pat on the back.
My thought was pretty simple: I wish I could love others like that. So real. So genuine. No strangers. No outsiders. Everyone is on equal ground. Reminds me of what Jesus said when He directed His followers to become like children. That’s what I saw tonight. That’s what I think He desires to see more in us. So real. So genuine. No strangers. No outsiders. Everyone is on equal ground.
Thoughts from a Hoosier Fan in the Buckeye Land 