Sunday, September 21, 2008

Adoption Seminar

We attended an adoption seminar this past Saturday that was a requirement for our adoption process. The seminar was wonderful and we were blessed by it in many ways. We got to hear from several adoptive parents and children, as well as a woman who had given her son up for adoption several years ago. All of these people were very open and honest with us about their experiences, and it was so encouraging to see how God had worked in their lives through the adoption experience. The whole day was a reminder to us of why we are pro-life. Seeing the adopted children and how they were flourishing in their adoptive families showed us what a gift their birthmothers gave them when they decided on adoption, not abortion.

One of the highlights of the day was when we heard from the woman (who is now a pregnancy counselor) who had given up her son for adoption several years ago when she was a college student. Her testimony was so moving, and gave us even more respect for women who make this courageous and selfless decision. Before we heard her testimony, we got to watch this amazing video by Mark Schultz. He is a Christian singer/songwriter who also happens to be adopted. He wrote a song for his birthmother as a "thank you" for her decision to give him life. Have your Kleenex ready!




We also watched the following video of his wonderful testimony regarding his adoption.




The only disappointing part of the day for us was that the room wasn't packed full of Christians waiting to adopt. We feel very strongly that if the Christian community is going to say "Adoption, not abortion" then we need to be ready to back that up with a willingness to adopt. We realize not every Christian family is going to be able to adopt, but the Christian community as a whole should be known by their love for orphaned children and their willingness to take care of them.

Please join us in praying for women who find themselves in a situation with an unplanned pregnancy. Pray that God will move them to give their baby life, and the courage to place that child for adoption if they feel they can't parent the child themselves.

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