Last night we attended a Bethany Adoption Services adoption celebration banquet, where we were asked to speak and share our adoption story. It went beautifully well, even with Ken and Lindsey and I all stealing the microphone from each other to tell parts of our story. 😉 The food was wonderful, and the facility was lovely — or fancy, as Kathryn said.

The music for the night was not merely entertainment, but worship, as a brand new adoptive daddy named Daniel led us in worship songs. His band will soon release their first single, and proceeds will go to funding adoptions for other couples. (I’ll have links to his site as soon as it’s up and running!) Additional coolness: he wrote one of our very favorite songs, “Like a Lion” on the Passion “Awakening” CD!

Several adoptive parents came up to us at the end of the evening to thank us for sharing our story. I asked them to share their own stories here on my blog, and I hope at least a few of them will do so! At least two were adopted themselves, and are now adoptive parents; isn’t that awesome!?

During the night, I was deeply convicted that just because we have adopted, we are not done caring for the orphans of the world. Try to wrap your mind around this statistic: there are about 163 million orphans worldwide. To put it another way, if you wanted to look into the face of each and every orphan for just ONE second, it would take more than FIFTY years (without any breaks). That is staggering, heartbreaking — and immensely convicting. I don’t know exactly what this means for us yet, but I feel like God is working on me 100mph  recently, and I’m just trying to keep up; He’ll let me know what He wants me to do.

One of the speakers said last night that when we (any of us adoptive parents) share our adoption story, we are sharing the gospel of Christ. He paraphrased from Colossians, where it says:

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should… make the most of every opportunity.” Colossians 4:2-5

That gentleman’s wife told us she hopes to convince her very large church to allow us to come speak, and told us we should be going around to various churches to speak. A year ago, I’d have thought that fantastical dreaming, but God has shown me that really might be just what He has in mind. Lindsey said on our way home that it’s a good thing she’s not shy, and I told her I believe that to be one of the gifts God has given her to use for His glory. God has given Lindsey an awesome testimony, and as she matures and grows into the woman He has called her to be, her testimony will grow even stronger. I’m honored to be along for the ride.

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »