But, you're white.....?

We have already been approached with this issue. "Why is a white family adopting a black child?" "Why would you do that to the child? Aren't they going to feel like an outsider?" "You are going to face some hard realities."

I had a dream last night that I traveled to Africa to finally pick up our child. I was by myself and I walked into an orphanage, and was surrounded by children. I had to walk around and find my child. A woman was sitting on the floor near a window, and under the window was this baby. When I saw the tiny thing I immediately knew that she was mine. She was very small and weak, and the woman told me that she had been abandoned in a trash heap. I picked her up and she turned into an older child laughing and playing with me. Although when I first laid eyes on her she was black, when she came close she was white and I kept thinking, "why is this child white?" "Does God not think I can handle raising a black child in my "white" world?" I was so sad. My dream went on and I continued to play with the child and get used the idea that she was the one I would be bringing home.

So this morning I sat down to do my devotional and it was based on 1 John 3:2.
"We are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him." This is such a reminder to me that no matter what we look like on the outside, we are ALL the same in the eyes of the Lord. We will never really know who we are supposed to be until we meet Him. And when that day comes, we will be just like Him! No matter if you are a rich, white business man; a middle-class asian american; or a poor black orphan from Ethiopia, we are all made in the image of Him. We all will have the same purpose. We put so much worth in what a person looks like,or what a person does for a living. Will we turn away from Jesus on the day we meet Him if He doesn't look like us? I doubt it. We will be overwhelmed to see not only the face of Jesus but the heart of Jesus also. I can't wait!

My dream reminded me of even my own insecurities in the area of race. As the Lord shows me these things, I humbly pray that He is showing others in our life the same. When our child in Ethiopia comes home to us, I pray that she will be a living testimony of grace and mercy.