Adoption Picnic

We've just returned home from our day at a local adoption agency event. We were able to see about 40 kids that are available for adoption right now. We got to interact with many of them, but we spent the most time by far with a family group of three: a boy, 7, another boy 4, and their sister, 3. They were so sweet, and it was beautiful to see how the 7 year old really looks out for his siblings.

Sadly, we do not have room for three, and the adjustment for us would probably prove too much. After 15 years of no kids around, just one will be a huge change!

But we did feel that there was a real possibility with two situations in particular. One is a four year old girl who is an only child. She will turn five in June. One thing that interests us about her is that she is connected to an extended family who love her and want to be involved with her as she grows up. We have been wondering about how our adoption opportunity might open us up to meeting people we never would have met before. We think God wants to use us in that capacity somehow - maybe as someone who reaches out to an extended family with acceptance and love rather than blame and rejection.

The other possibility is a group of two little girls aged 5 and 4. They seemed really sweet too. They have a lot of dental work because their teeth were neglected for so long. But their adult teeth should be protected as they grow in. Right now, they have these kind of cute metal-mouth smiles.

Basically, our process is to communicate our interest for more information for these girls. We will do that this weekend, and then it is all in God's hands after that. There were about 70 parents present at the picnic, so I'm certain others will also express their interest. My biggest prayer for the day was definitely answered, though. I still struggle with feeling sad about not getting the other two girls last month. Even though they are placed with a loving Christian family, I still feel sad about that loss from time to time. My prayer for today was that God would replace those thoughts (which are really pointless anyway) with feelings of love and possibility for others. That prayer was answered in abundance. Several times today I felt that any of these kids would be welcome in our home. They all need families!

So we wait.

Thanks for your prayers for us!