Not Impressed

Rescue those unjustly sentenced to die. Don't hesitate to step in and help. If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business." Will that get you off the hook? God knows what you know. He's not impressed with weak excuses. -Proverbs 24:11-12, NLT & The Message mash-up

Since God first wrecked our lives in a most excellent (and most difficult) way through adoption, I've gone back and forth, to and from extremes. At first I was all "full throttle ahead, everyone should adopt, and why aren't they" with my approach. 

Then I felt The Lord pressing me to be a little more graceful. I felt him nudging me to be quiet for a while, to listen, offer support, and to let him change hearts. I started learning more about adoption. I visited other countries and saw first-hand how family preservation is so much better IF it's feasible. I got in touch with Kirill's birth mom, learned his birth story from her perspective, and realized that family of origin is always the best option. But it isn't always an available option. 

For Kirill, and most orphaned children with intensive special needs, adoption is probably the only solution. This is where my passion has been re-ignited over the past few months. I've felt God telling me it's time to speak up again. Maybe a little more boldly than ever on behalf of orphaned children with special needs. 

Orphaned children with special needs. Let's talk about that. Let's allow the reality of their situations to sink in for a moment. A child with special needs with a loving, nurturing family will have some obstacles to overcome. A child with special needs without a family...well, their obstacles are almost insurmountable. Depending on the country, they are turned out onto the streets, placed in mental institutions, or turned over to nursing homes...obstacles that are impossible to overcome because they don't have a voice or a family to advocate for them.

Now, think about this for a moment. God tells us repeatedly that the least of these are our responsibility as Jesus-followers. WE are the ones sentencing them to an unfair death by doing nothing. 

It is our business. 

God is not impressed with weak excuses. 

Now, let's all together say our excuses for not doing something out loud. I will start. 

Our plate is full with Kirill. (Feel free to insert your own plate-filling child's name).

Well, it is pretty full. I work. Greg works. We have two kids and one of them has intensive special needs. But the reality is I work primarily from home so I have 6 hours a day alone while my children are at school. We have an extra bedroom. We have food to spare. Honestly, there is room for more from us. Imagine telling Jesus your weak excuse. Would he be impressed? For us, it has become clear that cannot check "special needs adoption" off a list and rest on our laurels for the rest of our lives. 

Frankly speaking, it's not about us. When we shift our focus to the children who need families, and we make it about their needs, everything changes. Our excuses are LAME-O. 

So today, on Orphan Sunday, let's all do better. Let's start examining excuses. Pray your excuses to God and see how he answers. Adoption is one answer...and for many it is the only answer. But there are eleventy billion other answers he may give you. The 90-year old home bound grandmother may be moved to pray for adopting families and their children. The tween aged crowd may organize a fundraiser for sponsoring a family preservation program. The young married couple may offer respite care for tired adoptive parents. He may tell you to mentor teen moms. We can probably all think of a family in our own community who needs help staying together. Why don't we come alongside those families and support them instead of judging them? There is plenty we can all do together. Let's just do something and stop with the excuses. God isn't impressed.