Friday, July 31, 2009

my life. changed.

Warner Bros. new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me tell you about how an orphan changed my life...

Twenty months ago Chris and I knelt on the floor of our bedroom and wept. We cried out and prayed, asking God if this is what He wanted from us. Adopt? Two!? From Ethiopia?! We wondered what our family would think, our friends, and our church. Two little girls’ faces had stolen our hearts. We prayed and prayed some more, and came to the realization that our family was not complete without them. Money flooded in, miraculously, piles of paperwork though not understandable got filled out, and things just fell into place. We knew this is what was right for our family. God had truly called us to it. Then the clock started to tick. Loudly. And almost two years later here we are. Still waiting, still wishing, hoping and praying. That being said, even though we haven’t met our adopted children our lives have already been forever changed. We haven’t hugged our girls, wiped their tears or heard their laughter. But not a day goes by that we don’t think about what that will be like. Our world has been rocked by the knowledge of the fact that there are over 4 million orphans in Ethiopia, Africa. How can we sit by and not do something? We have no excuse. Not one.



Our journey though, has now turned into something so much deeper than just adoption. In the dark moments of questioning and asking why and why not, our hope remains. When the emails of non-information come and the conversations with our agency that seem to be like a scene from “Groundhog Day”, our faith is strengthened. When we watch and hear of other families bringing home their adoptive children in what seems to be record time, our love grows. What started as a journey to adopt has become a journey to adopt M and G. Their pictures are in frames in the bedroom. Their beds wait empty. The closet is full of dresses, shoes and backpacks picked especially for them. Even two beautiful, handmade wood jewelry boxes wait on the dresser for them. This is about THEM. Our life has been changed for THEM. We won’t give up and we won’t stop praying. No amount of time waiting will force us to forget little M and G. Our lives will never be the same.


...from Tom Davis' blog

...it became apparent to me that this is exactly the opportunity to defend the cause of the orphan. But instead of cursing the darkness, let's put the truth on display.

I want to challenge my readers and friends to write 500 positive blog posts about how an orphan has impacted and changed your life. Post this on your own blog so that when people search for the movie, they are flooded with positive messages about adoption and orphan care.

Just finish this sentence: "Warner Bros. new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me tell you about how an orphan changed my life..."

This is the heart of defending orphans. Help push back the darkness and deceit here by holding up as an example the powerful love that adoption and orphan care can unleash.

Here's how you can defend the orphan:

1. Write a "positive protest post" on your blog that references the movie, Orphan.
2. Focus on your orphan care or adoption story that is positive, redeeming, and full of love.
3. Link your post here via a trackback or comment.
4. Send out an e-mail, Facebook message, or tweet to get others to do the same on their blogs.

If you don't have a blog, post your story on the Christian Alliance for Orphans Site.


4 comments:

Valerie Z said...

I PRAY your wait is almost over, I'm sure your daughters are sooo ready to come home!

Soon, I PRAY.

Valerie

Sherry said...

Although we are not the ones adopting, your journey has become our journey at Harvest; and although we cannot fully understand your pain and frustration, know that there are brothers and sisters who are constantly surrounding you and your family in prayer. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you guys are an inspiration to us all.

Debi said...

Chris and Becky,
Just getting to pray for you and your sweet girls, "M" and "G" has changed me and helped grow my faith and confidence in God's goodness.
I pray for God's power to move on your behalf to bring these precious treasures home soon.
How awesome to get a glimpse of their beautiful faces- a downpayment of the awesome things to come.
Love and hugs and prayers,
Debi

kathleen said...

I would just have to ditto what Sherry said. I wonder if these girls will know how many people have prayed over their lives. Praying them to their home.