Free At Last!

Our sweet baby girl is free to adopt!

We will officially adopt her in August after she has been legally placed in our care for 6 months. 

What a journey it has been! I will say that her Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) a few weeks ago went very quickly. As advised by Tori’s lawyer, we collected a few pictures of 22-month old, Tori, smiling & having fun over the past few months to be shown at the hearing. She is a happy little girl. She loves to sing, dance, jump & twirl in front of the mirror in pretty dresses (to which my husband was astonished that her behavior was in fact, innate). The pictures of Tori’s bright eyes & dimpled chocolate cheeks shown at the hearing were the FIRST time her birth parents had seen her smile. Heartbreaking as it was, her brilliant smile helped them to quickly relinquish their rights with the agreement that we send pictures and updates via the social worker as she grows up.

Adoption is such a beautiful thing, you know?

A child may come from an absolutely abysmal situation. The child suffers neglect & abuse so great that the government is forced to do something about it. So the child is taken from the only environment they know, parents they love & given to another family. That process is hard on the child, confusing & painful. The new family loves the child so much & the child begins to trust & feel safe in the new home. But adoption is so much more than love & a safe place to call home, adoption is becoming a member of a family. A bond that is not easily broken. When one is adopted they become an heir, entitled to all the benefits of being a part of that family. What a beautiful picture of God’s love for us. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure,” Ephesians 1:5 NLT.

We are all lost in a world of darkness. 

We aren’t capable of helping ourselves or getting out of our sin. We cry for help, admit that we are wrong & in need of a Savior, Jesus Christ. He not only cleans us up and removes us from the appalling state of our sin; He also adopts us as heirs of His royal kingdom! What other god does that? Is there another god that desires a relationship with us? 

We become sons & daughters, joint heirs with Christ!

Romans chapter 5 says, “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  

When we were utterly helpless, Christ (a perfect sacrifice) came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 BUT GOD showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 

So when people ask why we adopt it was for many reasons. 

Yes, we desired a little girl in our family. Yes, we love children & wanted to change the life of one if we could. Yes, pregnancy & I do NOT get along. But most importantly, we adopt because it reflects the heart of God. “…You received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, “Abba, Father.” 16For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory,” Romans 8:15-17.

Salvation in Christ is the true rags to riches story. God adopted us when we were lost in our trespasses and sins. He forgave us, restored us & made us royalty through His Son. 

Adoption is the gospel & can be proclaimed without saying a word.