The Adoption Gene

A lot of people think that I am crazy...not because of the obvious reasons, but because I say that I want to adopt. The most common question that follows my adoption comment is, "Can you not have children?" I do not know if my husband and I can conceive a child because we have not tried! But if we adopted a child, it would still be "our" child! Why do many people consider adoption the "second option" or "plan B"?

I know that many people choose adoption because they have struggled with infertility. I do not know the pain and hurt that comes from not being able to conceive a child, but I do know that their are plenty of hurting children out there that long to be wanted. They long to have a family! They long to be loved!

I found an article on the America World Adoption Association website where Donna Sheron shared how she always wanted to adopt. She felt the urge to adopt at age eleven and she refers to that desire as "the adoption gene". I have to admit that I did not feel the call that early, but I knew on my twenty-fifth birthday (which I spent on a mission trip in Singapore) that God was calling me to adopt a child (or children) from China. I have never been taught that adoption was a "second option", in fact I have many cousins that are adopted and they are family in every sense of word. So why do so many people have a hard time understanding "the adoption gene"?

Webster's Dictionary defines adoption: "to take by choice into a relationship". As Christians, we have all been adopted by our Heavenly Father who accepted us all and gave us His name. He chose to love us and enter into a relationship with us. When we adopt a child, we are reflecting the heart of Christ. It says in Romans 8:15, "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!'".

Sheron goes on to say, "If we are made in God's image, then we must have some of the same attributes that He does. I believe that adoption is the most beautiful manifestation of God's unconditional love. Picture yourself an orphan, and a loving father goes to the ends of the earth to bring you home. Just as I had this deep void within my life until I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I also had a deep void in my soul that could only be filled by adopting an orphaned child. Perhaps God just wanted to show me more of Himself. Perhaps I have an adoption gene that makes me desire to be an adoptive mom, for the desire could only have come from God Himself. Each birth is unique, each child a miracle from God. When a stranger hands you your baby in front of a room full of people, everyone else fades away. All you see is him or her and all you feel is the presence of God and the miracle of what love truly is. I don't know if my desire was caused by an adoptive gene or not. But I do know this: the two greatest voids in my life were both completely and joyfully filled through adoption, by God adopting me into His family and by our adopting. "

I believe that I have that "adoption gene" and my passion for adoption has caused me to start to get more involved in the world around me. Through that, God is showing me more of Himself each and every day! If I am crazy for wanting to adopt and we are created in God's image, then I guess that I can truly say that it is in my genes!