PARENTS - WE'D ALL GO TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

One thing we hear a lot when people first learn about our adoption is "what an amazing thing you are doing."   Although we usually give a standard answer of "thank you, we are very excited" I often find myself wanting to SHOUT "it's not amazing, we are simply normal loving parents." (By the way if you said this in the past or say this in the future please don't worry...this post is simply me expressing what is on my heart.)

When we accepted God's plan that our next child was going to come into our family through adoption I immediately felt this child was OURS (in the earthly sense because we are all really God's children).  God created this child just for our family and for us to parent with the only difference being simply his/her unconventional method of "delivery."  (see side note below)

I instantly fell in love with our child...the same way I fell in love with my first two children when I discovered I was pregnant.  As a result, I am simply doing what any other loving mother would do for her child...whatever it takes!  Yes, we are navigating through an extensive process.  Yes, the journey is going to be long and difficult.  BUT the truth is...I would go to the ENDS OF THE EARTH for my children.  And I bet most of you reading this blog post would do the same thing for your children.

So we aren't really doing anything all that amazing.  We are simply doing what other normal loving parents do for their children everyday too...being a parent is a long, difficult and extensive process in itself.

I recently saw this quote and feel it perfectly describes a parent's love for a child...

“Only God can give us a selfless love for others, as the Holy Spirit changes us from within."
Billy Graham



SIDE NOTE - I know some of you will say "wasn't this child created for his/her biological parents" and you are right.  The short answer to this hard question (which I hope to blog about someday) is - we believe God created this child with the unique opportunity to have two sets of parents, his/her biological parents and then us, his/her "forever family." (Although this is not one of my favorite terms, since I believe a child's biological parents are also his/her "forever" family, it is commonly used in adoption and at this moment I can't think of a better way to phrase it...any suggestions are welcome.)