Adoption: The Privilege and The Cost

Our last meeting was on September 18.  The Robinsons did an excellent job of sharing how their adoption journey over the past 25 years has been a privilege mixed with pain.  They showed us clearly that God has worked in their life to bring beauty out of brokenness.  I had hoped to video tape their talk but I had technical difficulties.  Recently I ran across a couple of resources that I would like to share in the vein of, "The Privilege and The Cost."

First, is a video put out by Empowered to Connect.  Dr. Karyn Purvis shares about "Counting The Cost of the Journey."  Here is their synopsis:

The adoption and foster care journey is filled with joy, blessings and beauty. But it is a journey also marked by loss, pain and challenges of various kinds. As a result we must be mindful to 'count the cost' of traveling this journey. Watch as Dr. Karyn Purvis encourages parents to 'count the cost" as they engage the adoption and foster care journey in a way that leads to hope and healing.

Counting the Cost of the Journey from Tapestry on Vimeo.

The second resource is a blog post by Russell Moore.  The title of the post is "Don't Adopt."  That sounds a bit harsh but I encourage you to read the post and catch his heart.  Here is a short snippet from his post:

If you want your “dream baby,” do not adopt or foster a child: buy a cat and make-believe. Adopting an orphan isn’t ordering a consumer item or buying a pet. Such a mindset hurts the child, and countless other children and families. Adoption is about taking on risk as cross-bearing love. 

For years, I’ve called Christian churches and families to our James 1:27 mandate to care for widows and orphans in their distress, to live out the adoption we’ve received in the gospel by adopting and fostering children. At the same time, I’ve maintained that, while every Christian is called to care for orphans and widows, not every Christian is called to adopt or foster. As a matter of fact, there are many who, and I say this emphatically, should not....

Foster Care Crisis in Spokane

With permission from the Foster Parents Association of Spokane, I am reposting an email they sent to me today.  Please spread the word to any friends you know of who might be considering foster care or adoption.

"CALL TO ACTION TODAY

Attention Spokane Community:  We are in a crisis.  We need more foster homes willing to take children now.
Here are the facts:
Placement Staff in Spokane County (Homes Finders) have placed 253 children in the last 3 months alone!  This is a dramatic increase over previous years.
Home Finders had to call 9 homes before they could find a home for a newborn baby.
Home Finders have had to separate sibling groups including a set of twins because we do not have enough homes.

We need your help today!

Here is your call to action.  Every foster parent recruit one new home by October 15th .  Please take this call to action and email me back that you will commit to recruit one new home by October 15th.  Orientation is scheduled for October 18th.
Together we CAN make a difference for the children of our community!

Linda Rogers, Regional Foster Parent Recruitment Coordinator 

509-389-7192

Please forward this Call To Action to your email list.

Visit www.fpas.org for contact information, training, etc."

You can read this news article if you want to read this information in a slightly different format.