Grace in Adoption

My oldest niece, Hannah, is adopted. I am impressed with my sister and brother-in-law's willingness to face the challenges of adoption. I have had too much psychology, experience working with adolescence who have been adopted, and done too much reading to think that adoption is easy. There are so many challenges involved in bonding, security, and other things that simply do not occur with a birth child. You have to walk into adoption with eyes wide open otherwise you will be blindsided when these things start to occur. It calls for love, patience, understanding and grace to be willing to walk with that child through their pain and help them grow in security in your (and God's) love.

I was reading for class and the author (Dr. King) talks about the fact that God "understands the price and challenge of adoption" and that concept hit me in a new way. God knows that I (we as Christians) come into the whole Christian thing with tons of baggage. He realizes that there will be challenges and that we will be insecure, not well bonded, have past hurts, etc. and he fully embraces us and is willing to walk us through it.

I forget this fact quickly. I do not easily believe that God really wants to undergo the challenge of adopting me. Yet He, in His great love and mercy is wooing me. He's telling me that He knows it ALL, He understands and He wants me to rest fully in Him. He knows that I will balk and rebel and He is willing to patiently and graciously walk with me through it all. What an awesome God we have.