Five years ago, my husband and I decided to take a journey toward adoption. We felt that our family wasn’t done growing, and I was unable to have biological children. We decided to not only adopt but to adopt older children and teens.
I believe that God placed each of my children into our lives. God was with my husband and me as we agonized over if we should take the leap of faith. God was with each of those scared children who lost everything as they were introduced to strangers and invited to start again. God is with us as they experience bedtime stories, holidays, family meals, clothes that fit, and meals on the table for the first time. God is with me as I cry, realizing they are doing these things for the first time, and we take it for granted.
Please join me in praying for families who are facing instability, for those who have lost family members and are unable to return to their lives, giving thanks for those who are saved by God’s grace and led to nurturing families, and for the families that say, YES.
This message is excerpted from “Many ways to build a family: Celebrating National Adoption Month” by Erin Burns from the November 7, 2022, blog of the Women of the ELCA. Today we commemorate Joseph, guardian of Jesus.
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