Friday night and Saturday Matt and I attended an Adopted for Life conference at Lifepoint Church in MS. Friday night Dr. Moore preached a message that EVERY Christian or non-Christian, adopted or non adopted, young or elderly should hear. He made many great points. My prayer is that one day my adopted children as well as my biological children will hear him preach.
Saturday morning Dr. Moore once more presented a very convicting message. Some of the following are great points:
It is easy to love the poor when you are not "around" the poor. People should not be viewed as resources (whether rich or poor) because resources are temporary.
Widows and orphans are not an abstract idea or a "project." They are real people with real needs and the church needs to start acting like it.
Taking care of widows and orphans is not a "charity" or a "hand-out." Widows and orphans will not be widows and orphans forever because one God promises states the "least of these" will not be "least of these forever."
Do not ignore the infertile women in your life. It is an easy place for satan to be at work. Infertile women have the tendency to be bitter, envious, covet, in despair, etc.
We are all sinners who need to love sinners. Instead of shunning the unwed mother carrying a child, she needs to be nurtured, ministered to, and given guidance.
When fostering or adopting, you are accepting that LOVE brings risk. LOVE means I can be hurt.
Main take away: How is God calling me to care for widow and orphans?
Is it the desire to adopt? Is it a financial contribution? Is it sacrificing time at a women's clinic?
Saturday afternoon message:
How do you communicate to a child he/she WAS adopted? You explain to the child he/she is in THIS family because God decided for you to be in OUR family. And we are a family permanently.
Parents should also teach the gospel as a perfect picture of adoption. Just as I am adopted in Christ and have a newness in identity, the adopted child as newness in identity as a part of this family.
Parents should emphasize the child WAS adopted. He/She is now "my child."
Many people will question how one will response when the child has an identity crisis. How does any parent deal with a child going through an identity crisis? Every teenager/college age student goes through a "who am I really?" phase. The identity crisis is not a result of adoption; adopted children have a tendency to create the birth parent into whoever he/she wants the birth parent to be. This is normal and parents should not freak out!
Important lesson: DO NOT condemn the birth parent. God defines who the child is...it is not all about genetics. When an adopted child begins to question how much of the birth family resides in him/her or if he/she is predestined to this behavior, remind the child who defines their identity.
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